Weekly round-up: Semi-finished prices fluctuate, flats remain range-bound

The domestic steel market saw seesaw trend in prices during week 51 ( 18-23 December, 2023). Semi-finished steel prices varied in the range of INR 600-1,500/tonne (t).

Domestic induction furnace-finished long steel offers witnessed volatility in prices. Prices varied in the range of INR 400-1,000/t. Trade reference prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) and cold rolled coil (CRC) were noticed stable in the market.

Iron ore and pellets

• SteelMint's bi-weekly domestic pellet (Fe 63%) index, PELLEX, increased by INR 100/t w-o-w to INR 10,200/tonne (t) DAP Raipur on 22 December, 2023. Deals of 25,000 t was recorded in the last one week. Recently, the pellet plants hiked their raw pellet offers by up to INR 200-300/t supported by the export deals concluded in the last 10-15 days.
  
  
• OMC conducted an auction for 3 mnt of iron ore (Fe 54-65%) on 19 December 2023. The entire quantity of fines (Fe 54-65%, 1.678 mnt) was booked. Bids for fines have increased by INR 100-1,100/t against the bid prices of November 2023. While, out of 1.281 mnt of iron ore lumps (Fe 58-64%), 1.181 mnt (92% of the offered quantity) lumps were booked by steelmakers. Bids for lumps received a good response against bids in November 2023 and increased by INR 50-1,400/t. The miner raised the base price by INR 50-100/t m-o-m for fines and reduced the base prices of lumps by INR 100/t for the December auction.
  
  
• NMDC conducted an auction for 28,000 t of iron ore from the Donimalai mines on 19 December 2023. 4,000 t of lumps (10-40 mm, Fe 54%) were booked at INR 4,017/t against the base price of INR 2,547/t and 24,000 t fines (Fe 54%) were booked at INR 2,779/t against the base price of INR 2,437/t. Bid prices for lumps and fines were higher than the base price by INR 1,470/t and INR 342/t, respectively.
  
  
• SteelMint's weekly Indian low-grade iron ore fines (Fe 57%) export index increased by $2/tonne (t) w-o-w to $92/t FOB east coast on 21 December, 2023. Total deals of 450,000 t of Fe 54/57% iron ore were recorded from India in the overseas market in the last one week.
  
  
• SteelMint's India pellet (Fe 63%, 3% Al) export (FOB east coast) index decreased by $2/t w-o-w to $126/t on 20 December 2023. One export deal for 55,000 t of pellets (Fe 62%) was concluded at $143-144/t CFR for non-Chinese markets last week. A South India-based pellet maker had floated an export tender for 100,000 t of material (Fe 63%; Al2O3- less than 2%) on 21 December 2023. As per sources, the tender was heard concluded at around $137-138/t FOB.
  
  

Coal

• Australian premium hard coking coal prices rose by 2% w-o-w to $327/t FOB and $345/ t CNF on 23 December 2023 amidst increased trades.
  
  
• RB1 (6000 NAR) grade prices remained largely stable w-o-w at $101.25/t FOB. Also, RB3 prices remained unchanged w-o-w at $76/t FOB Richards Bay, South Africa.
  
  
• Portside prices of South African RB3 (4800 NAR) thermal coal at Vizag Port recorded at INR 8,400/t, stable w-o-w.
  
  

Ferro scrap

• The demand for imported scrap in India remained subdued throughout the week due to discrepancies in prices and the presence of previously committed materials. The weekly average offers for shredded scrap from Europe recorded at $414/t CFR Nhava Sheva reflected a decrease of $11/t compared to the previous week's $425/t CFR. Additionally, HMS (80:20) scrap offers also saw a decline, dropping by $10/t w-o-w to $394/t CFR.
  
  
• A spokesperson from a trading company commented on the current market situation, stating, "The market is currently undergoing a significant downturn. There is an oversupply of distressed cargo for sale, and buyers are exercising caution, showing reluctance to engage at higher price levels."
  
  
• Notably, specific transactions included the booking of 500 t of shredded scrap from Poland at $415/t CFR Chennai, approximately 500 t of HMS (80:20) scraps from West Africa at $390-395/t CFR Chennai, and 500 t each of turning boring and LMS bundles from the Netherlands and West Africa at $370-375/t CFR Chennai.
  
  

Ferro alloys

Silico Manganese: Prices for silico manganese in India increased by INR 1,600/t due to supply limitations in local markets. Additionally, increased export queries and mass purchase at higher costs could be factors in the price increase. However, the domestic billet index was at INR 39,800/t, down INR 1,200/t ex-Raipur. As of December 22, 2023, Indian silico manganese (60-14) was trading at roughly INR 64,700-65,500/t exw Durgapur, Raipur, and Vizag.

Ferro Manganese: This week, the persistent shortages in major regions and the producer's reduction in production caused a 1,000/t increase in the price of ferro manganese (HC70%). Prices for ferro manganese increased as a result of improved export inquiries as well. SteelMint reported that on 22 December, ferro manganese offers were INR 64,500/t exw in Raipur and Durgapur.

Ferro Silicon: Prices of Indian ferro silicon (FeSi:70%) remained largely stable with a slight decline by INR 50/t this week as the trades were on the lower side due to the availability of enough stocks. The coming days might be the same for the ferro silicon market. According to SteelMint, prices of ferro silicon in India on 22 December hovered at INR 101,800/tonne (t) exw-Guwahati.

Ferro Chrome: On 22 December, prices of Indian ferro chrome (HC 60%, Si:4%) increased by INR 2,800/t w-o-w to INR 109,900/t exw-Jajpur as after auction results producers rose the prices. Vedanta-FACOR's ferro chrome auction on 13 December got concluded at INR 107,100/t exw for the bigger lot of 10-150 mm. However, stainless steel prices continued their downward trend, the 304 grade fell by INR 2,000/t w-o-w to INR 178,000/t exw-Mumbai.

Semi-Finished

• Indian semi-finished steel prices decreased as per SteelMint's assessment. Domestic billet prices decreased by INR 600-1,500/t across regions, with a major decrease of INR 1,500/t seen in Goa. Similarly, sponge iron prices also decreased by INR 600-900/t, with a major decrease of INR 900/t seen in the eastern region (Rourkela, Jharsuguda and Ramgarh).
  
  
• SAIL- Durgapur Steel Plant held an auction for 2,000 t of steel-grade pig iron on 19 November 2023. The total quantity was booked at an average price of INR 37,500/t exw.

  SAIL's Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) held an auction for 1,500 t of steel-grade pig iron on 16 December 2023. The entire quantity was booked at an average price of INR 37,300/t exw.
  
  

• Indian DRI (Direct Reduced Iron) exports offers increased by approximately $8/t, reaching $380/t on CPT Raxaul, and $390/t on CPT Benapole.
  
  

Finished-long steel

• (IF Route): India's induction furnace route finished long steel market witnessed limited trading activities on w-o-w basis. Liquidity issue and rising inventories in the mills pressurised manufacturers to decline the offers. Owing to fall in sponge iron and billet prices, buyers were cautiously procuring material and to avoid hefty bookings.
  
  
• On a weekly basis, in rebar steel prices decreased in the range of INR 400-1,100/t across the regions as per SteelMint assessment.
  
  
• The trade reference price of Fe 500 grade rebar manufactured via the IF route for 10-25 mm size was assessed at INR 43,200-43,600/t exw Raipur, INR 48,000-48,600/t exw Jalna.
  
  
• Trade reference price of heavy structural steel for base size 150mm channel stands at INR 46,000-46,500/t exw Raipur.
  
  
• Trade reference prices of wire rod hovering at INR 43,800-44,200/t ex Raipur.
  
  
• BF-route rebar: Trade-level prices of blast furnace (BF) route rebars witnessed downward trend across major markets amid slow buying interest during the week. SteelMint's weekly price assessment for rebars (12-32 mm, BF-route, IS 1786, Fe500D) for the trade segment fell by INR 500/t to INR 53,300/t, exy-Mumbai, excluding GST at 18%.
  
  
• In the projects segment, prices are currently hovering at INR 51,500-52,000/t on FOR Mumbai basis. Demand from end-users was need-basis only amid declining prices as they have postponed their purchase decision waiting for stability in prices.
  
  
• Trade prices of induction furnace (IF) route rebars registered drop of INR 600/t w-o-w to INR 48,700/t exw-Mumbai amid sluggish demand in spot market.
  
  

Finished flat steel

• SteelMint's bi-weekly benchmark assessment for hot-rolled coils (HRC) (IS2062, Gr E250, 2.5-8mm) witnessed a slight dip of INR 100/t ($1/t) on 20 December, 2023, settling at INR 55,000/t ($662/t) compared to the previous week. In contrast, cold-rolled coils (CRC) (IS513, Gr O, 0.9mm) prices remained stable at INR 62,500/t ($752/t) during the same period. A surge in competitively priced imports, coupled with ample domestic production at attractive prices, has led to an oversupply of readily available material.
  
  
• The week-over-week analysis reveals a decrement of $10/t in the Hot Rolled Coils (HRC) exported by Indian mills to the European Union (EU), settling at approximately $695/t CFR Antwerp. Notably, export transactions totalling approximately 15,000 tonnes from India to the EU were tracked by SteelMint.
  
  
• Meanwhile, Indian steel mills opted to curtail HRC exports to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, citing diminished profitability and the competitive pricing strategies adopted by Chinese counterparts.
  
  
• In December 2023, provisional vessel line-up data monitored by SteelMint reveals that bulk imports of HRC and plates reached 486,383 tonnes (t).