Weekly round-up: Semi-finished, rebar prices decline amid mixed sentimentsket

The domestic steel market saw overall mixed trends in prices during week 36 (18-23 September, 2023). Semi-finished steel prices decreased by INR 200-1,200/tonne (t).

Iron ore and pellets

• SteelMint's bi-weekly domestic pellet (Fe 63%) index, PELLEX, increased by INR 350/t to INR 10,650/t DAP Raipur on 22 September 2023. Deals of 10,000 tonnes (t) were recorded this week.
  
  
• In OMC's auction, 2.87 mnt of iron ore (2.25 mnt of fines and 0.62 mnt of lumps) were offered out of which 2.25 mnt of fines and 324,000 t of lumps were sold. Bids rose further by INR 850/t for fines and INR 900/t for lumps. Tight merchant availability and hike in pellet and steel prices pushed iron ore prices higher.
  
  
• The Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) conducted an auction for 19,850 t of iron ore tailings (Fe 60.29%- indicative) from its Barsua mines in Odisha on 21 September. According to sources, the entire quantity was booked at INR 4,840/t ex-mines. Prices include royalty, DMF, NMET, and an extra premium.
  
  
• KSMCL had concluded an auction for 144,000 t of iron ore from its mines in Bellary, Karnataka on 22 September. According to sources, 88,000 t of fines (Fe63.54%) got booked at INR 4,305-4,315/t against the base price of INR 3,735/t and 56,000 t of lumps (10-40 mm, Fe62.30-63.42%) got booked at INR 4,531-4,788/t against base price of INR 4,068-4,141/t. Prices are on ex-mines basis and exclusive of royalty, DMF and NMET.
  
  
• SteelMint's weekly Indian low-grade iron ore fines (Fe 57%) export index remained stable w-o-w at $72/t FOB east coast on 21 September, 2023. Two deals of 110,000 t were reported from the east coast at $84-85/t CFR China in this publishing window. As per sources, discounts for low-grade ore were at around 20-22% on the index price.
  
  

Coal

• Australian premium hard coking coal prices rose by 3% w-o-w to $324/t FOB and $341/ t CNF on 23 September amid limited high-CV supplies.
  
  
• RB1 (6000 NAR) grade prices remained largely stable on a weekly basis at $120.85/t FOB. Similarly, RB3 prices remained stable at $92/t FOB Richards Bay, South Africa.
  
  
• Portside prices of South African RB3 (4800 NAR) thermal coal at Vizag Port were recorded at INR 9,000/t, up by INR 200/t w-o-w.
  
  

Ferrous scrap

• The imported ferrous scrap market in India remained slow this week, with buyers taking a cautious approach due to price volatility and the impact of festivals on demand, especially in the western region. Market activity was limited, and small tonnage deals were sealed, mostly trader-driven, leading to prices that appeared unusual compared to real market prices.
  
  
• Scrap importers in India faced challenges in selling their existing inventory, and the market saw increased availability of imported scrap, exerting selling pressure in the domestic market. Thus, only buyers who had certain requirements were active this week.
  
  
• It was worth noting that offers were being diverted to India from Europe and the US due to favourable quotes compared to Turkiye's prices.
  
  
• Offers for shredded scrap fell by over $2/t to $429.2/t CFR Nhava Sheva from $431.6/t CFR a week ago.
  
  
• Offers for HMS (80:20) scrap also fell by $2/t to $414.4/t CFR Nhava Sheva from $416.6/t CFR a week ago
  
  
• On the other hand, deals were heard from Europe, West Africa, Brazil, and the US throughout this week for grades like HMS, turning boring, busheling, shredded and PNS.
  
  

Ferro alloys

• Silico manganese

  As of September 22, 2023, Indian silico manganese (60-14) was trading at roughly INR 68,000-69,500/t exw-Durgapur, Raipur, and Vizag. Prices for silico-manganese in India fell approximately by INR 600/t this week due to poor demand and a drop in raw material prices, particularly for higher grades of manganese ore. Silico manganese prices have been impacted by sluggish demand in recent weeks, with Indian producers in particular struggling to sell in international and European markets due to rising power tariffs and liquidity concerns.
  
  

• Ferro manganese

  Prices for Indian ferro manganese (HC70%) declined by INR 800/t this week due to a lack of inquiries and a lack of demand for special steels. On 22 September, ferro manganese offers in Raipur and Durgapur were at INR 68,500-69,800/t exw respectively, according to SteelMint.
  
  

• Ferro chrome

  Significant growth in Indian ferro chrome offerings has been noticed w-o-w. Due to the high cost of manufacturing, the price assessment of ferro chrome (HC 60%, Si:4%) increased sharply by INR 11,000/t w-o-w compared to earlier assessments. OMC's chrome ore auction on 18 September fetched a higher premium of up to 77%. On 20 September, SteelMint estimated Indian ferro chrome (HC60%, Si:4%) pricing to be INR 127,000/t exw-Jajpur. However, some producers were now offering, with only a few forecasting INR 130,000-132,000/t exw-Jajpur levels.
  
  

• Ferro silicon

  Prices of Indian ferro silicon (70%) decreased by INR 1,000/t w-o-w as demand remained weak and producers were unable to keep their original bids. According to SteelMint, Indian ferro silicon prices were at INR 104,000/t exw-Guwahati on 22 September. Bhutan's pricing followed suit, falling by INR 800/t w-o-w to INR 104,500/t exw. Approximately 500 t of trades were completed at INR 104,500-105,000/t.
  
  

Semi-finished

• Indian semi-finished steel prices decreases as per SteelMint's assessment. Domestic billet prices decreased by INR 200-1,200/t across regions, with a major decrease of INR 1,200/t seen in the Eastern region. Similarly, sponge iron prices also decreased by INR 200-1,000/t, with a major increase of INR 1,000/t seen in Durgapur w-o-w.
  
  
• SAIL-Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) held an auction for 3,500 t of steel-grade pig iron on 18 September. The entire quantity was booked at an average price of INR 39,370/t exw.
  
  
• Indian DRI export offers increased by approximately $2/t, reaching $428/t on CPT Raxaul.
  
  

Finished longs

IF route

• India's induction furnace-route finished long steel prices dropped w-o-w across regions. Sellers were compelled to lower their quotes and offer attractive discounts due to lacklustre market sentiments. However, buying inquiries still remained weak, and minimal trading activity was observed in the spot market. A similar price movement was observed in the raw materials (sponge iron and billets). Lifting of previously booked material was also very dull and manufacturers are currently under a bit of inventory pressure, SteelMint learnt.
  
  
• On a weekly basis, in rebar, steel prices declined by INR 300-1,400/t across regions except in a few markets.
  
  
• The trade reference price of Fe 500 grade rebar manufactured via the IF route for 10-25 mm size was assessed at INR 46,500-46,900/t exw-Raipur, and at INR 51,200-51,700/t, exw-Jalna.
  
  
• Trade reference prices of heavy structural steel for base size 150mm channels stood at INR 49,500-49,800/t exw-Raipur.
  
  
• Trade reference prices of wire rods hovered at INR 47,000-47,500/t ex Raipur.
  
  

BF-route rebar

• Indian tier-I mills increased rebar list prices for end-September 2023 deliveries. Following this, trade-level blast furnace route (BF) rebar prices rose w-o-w across major markets and demand in the distribution channel network was firm during the week. Furthermore, shortage of inventories in the trade channel also gave support to prices along with slight improvement in buying activities.
  
  
• In the projects segment, prices hovered at around INR 55,500-56,500/t FOR Mumbai basis against INR 55,000-55,500/t in the week-ago period.
  
  
• SteelMint's weekly price assessment for rebars (12-32 mm, BF-route, IS 1786, Fe500D) for the trade segment increased by INR 900/t w-o-w to INR 57,900/t, exy-Mumbai, excluding GST at 18%.
  
  

• Indian mills had been indicating a possibility for price increase announcement in the previous week, which led to a current week's increament in trade prices. Furthermore, couple of Indian mills raised their HRC list prices by INR 750/t effective from 21 September. One of the mills went a step further and increased CRC and HR plate prices by the same quantum.
  
  
• Few distributors across the Indian markets shared that demand from infra and construction businesses have started percolating in the spot market. Elections and festive season round the corner have gently pushed the market sentiments upwards, as demand from auto and white goods segment showed some strength. However, they are still observing less volumes per purchase order.
  
  

• Increase in new infrastructure and construction projects were heard in the UAE however, it did not get converted into demand, shared a few EXIM sources.