Weekly round-up: Semi-finished prices remain subdued amid moderate finished steel demand

Domestic induction furnace-finished long steel showed downward trend. Ferro alloys market remains uncertain amid low demand.

Iron ore and pellets

• SteelMint's bi-weekly domestic pellet (Fe 63%) index, PELLEX, remained stable w-o-w at INR 9,700/tonne (t) DAP Raipur on 24 November, 2023. Total deals of 23,000 t of raw pellets were recorded in the last one week.
  
  
• NMDC raised prices of DR-CLO and fines by INR 200/tonne (t), effective from 22 November, 2023. The miner fixed prices of DR CLO (10-40mm, Fe67%) at INR 6,720/t and those of iron ore fines (-10mm, Fe64%) at INR 4,660/t (on FoR basis from Bacheli complex). Prices include royalty, DMF and NMET charges.
  
  
• NMDC conducted an auction for 392,000 t of iron ore from the Kumaraswamy mines on 24 November. 176,000 t of lumps (10-40 mm, Fe 58.19-64.27%) were booked at INR 4,775-5,482/t against the base price of INR 3,085-4,201/t. 216,000 t of fines (Fe 54.93-62.57%) were booked at INR 2,338-5,084/t against base price of INR 2,338-3,654/t. Bid prices for lumps and fines were higher by INR 1,700/t and INR 1,470/t, respectively.
  
  
• SteelMint's India pellet (Fe 63%, 3% Al) export (FOB east coast) index increased further by $2/t w-o-w to $130/t on 22 November. The pellet export index has increased to one-and-a-half year high. Similar levels were last touched in May 2022. Two deals of total 130,000 t of pellets (Fe62/63%) were recorded by SteelMint from eastern India-based players at $142-144/t CFR China in this publishing window.
  
  

Coal

• Australian premium hard coking coal prices dropped by 2% w-o-w to $319/t FOB and $336/ t CNF on 25 November amid sufficient material availability.
  
  
• RB1 (6000 NAR) grade prices remain unchanged w-o-w to $113.75/t FOB. RB3 prices dropped by 3% w-o-w at $85/t FOB Richards Bay, South Africa.
  
  
• Portside prices of South African RB3 (4800 NAR) thermal coal at Vizag Port recorded at INR 9,000/t, stable w-o-w.
  
  

Ferro scrap

• In India, the demand for imported scrap in containers remained sluggish as buyers favoured cost-effective domestic sourcing. The gap between seller's prices and buyer's bids dampened demand, though a few bulk bookings were noted.
  
  
• Fresh shipments are expected at Chennai port in mid-December. Some recent transactions include 2,000 t of HMS (80:20) scraps from Europe at $395/t CFR Mundra and 9,500 t of NTP scraps from Italy/Europe at $420-425/t CFR Chennai.
  
  
• A trader mentioned, "At present, we are not inclined to secure new material due to our existing substantial inventories. The materials booked in the August-October period are anticipated to be delivered, and we are well-supplied until January. Additionally, financial constraints are a consideration. Therefore, we plan to recommence purchasing in December for shipments scheduled for February and March."
  
  
• A Gujarat-based steel mill booked 36,000 t of mix scrap from the US at an average of $427/t CFR Kandla.
  
  
• The weekly average offers for shredded scrap from Europe were assessed at $415/t CFR, a marginal rise of $1/t as against $414/t CFR a week ago. HMS (80:20) offers edged up by $5/t to $398/t CFR as against $393/t a week ago.
  
  

Ferro alloys

• Silico Manganese: As of 24 November, Indian silico manganese (60-14) traded at around INR 61,700-62,900/t exw Durgapur, Raipur, and Vizag, the prices fell by INR300/t on poor demand and lowered acceptance of higher offers.
  
  
• Ferro Manganese: Prices of ferro manganese (HC70%) decreased by INR 700/t this week as the demand for special steels witnessed downtrend w-o-w. According to SteelMint, ferro manganese offers in Raipur and Durgapur on 24 November were at INR 62,500-62,900/t exw.
  
  
• Ferro Silicon: Prices of Indian ferro silicon (FeSi:70%) remained stable with slight decline by INR 300/t this week on consistent inquiries and demand. According to SteelMint, prices of ferro silicon in India on 24 November hovered at INR 101,800/tonne (t) exw-Guwahati.
  
  
• Ferro Chrome: On 24 November, prices of Indian ferro chrome (HC 60%, Si:4%) inched up by INR 200/t to INR 105,000/t exw-Jajpur. The entire chrome ore put up for auction by Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) was sold out which led to an increase in availability of material in the market.
  
  

Semi-finished

• Indian semi-finished steel prices decreased as per SteelMint's assessment. Domestic billet prices decreased by INR 100-1,000/t across regions, with a major decrease of INR 1,000/t seen in Goa. Similarly, sponge iron prices also decreased by INR 100-700/t, with a major decrease of INR 700/t seen in Mandi Gobindgarh.
  
  
• SAIL's Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) held an auction for 2,000 t of steel grade pig iron on 21 November. The entire quantity was booked at an average price of INR 35,950/t exw.
  
  
• Tata Steel subsidiary, Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL), has scheduled an auction for 4,000 t of pooled iron fines chunks, PCM scrap, pig iron and LRS scrap from its Kalinganagar plant in Odisha on 24 November.
  
  
• Indian DRI (Direct Reduced Iron) exports offers remained stable at $385/t on CPT Raxaul, and $400/t on CPT Benapole.
  
  

Finished-long steel

• Finished Long Steel (IF Route): India's induction furnace route finished long steel market witnessed a slight price correction this week. Weak buying interest at offer prices quoted via sellers as well as a similar trend in semi-finished steel across various regions were the major factors that prompted manufacturers to decrease offer prices. Despite the decline in offers, limited trades were observed in the spot market. Constant price fluctuations and lack of clarity in the market direction compelled buyers to avoid any bulk procurement at the moment.
  
  
• W-o-w, in rebar steel prices decreased by INR 200-900/t across the regions as per SteelMint's assessment.
  
  
• The trade reference price of Fe 500 grade rebar manufactured via the IF route for 10-25 mm size was assessed at INR 43,800-44,200/t exw Raipur, INR 48,700-49,300/t exw Jalna.
  
  
• Trade reference price of heavy structural steel for base size 150mm channel stands at INR 46,900-47,000/t exw Raipur.
  
  
• Trade reference prices of wire rod hovering at INR 44,500-45,000/t ex Raipur.
  
  
• BF-route rebar: Trade-level blast furnace (BF) route rebar prices fell across major markets during the week amid slow demand in the domestic market. A leading private steel mill has reportedly rolled-over its rebar list prices for early-December 2023 dispatches earlier this week. Furthermore, market participants are waiting for other mills to announce prices for next month.
  
  
• In the projects segment, prices are currently hovering around INR 53,500-54,500/t FOR Mumbai basis.
  
  
• SteelMint's weekly price assessment for rebars (12-32 mm, BF-route, IS 1786, Fe500D) for the trade segment fell by INR 700/t to INR 55,300/t, exy-Mumbai, excluding GST at 18%.
  
  

Finished flat steel

• The HRC and CRC trade price assessments (biweekly) have dropped slightly by around INR 100-500/t this week in a few markets. On the other hand, have remained rangebound, in a few of the other markets under assessment. The slow resumption of buyers post the Diwali festive holidays, and the air around elections has kept the market a bit inert. Plates and coated flat steel product assessments that were withheld in the previous week, showed a decline. Availability of labourers remained a concern too, informed some sources.
  
  
• On the global trade front, there have been no trades deals heard over the last 7 days. The Indian origin HRC export offers were heard quoted a little higher around $690-695/t CFR Antwerp, Europe.
  
  
• Meanwhile, the Indian manufacturers are yet to break the silence for the Middle East and the Vietnamese markets. These regions lay the platform for the SteelMint India HRC (SAE1006) export index. The last update on 19 September had stood at $580/t FOB east coast, India basis.