Weekly round-up: Semi-finished steel prices edge up on active uptick in steel demand

The domestic steel market saw a see-sawing price trend during week 8 ( 19-24 February, 2024). Semi-finished steel prices increased in the range of INR 150-1,000/tone (t).

Iron ore and pellets

• BigMint's bi-weekly domestic pellet (Fe 63%) index, PELLEX, dropped by INR 250/t w-o-w at INR 9,300/tonne (t) DAP Raipur on 23 February 2024. A deal of 10,000 t was recorded at INR 9,550/t DAP Raipur from the Raipur region in the last one week. The major plants reduced pellet offers by INR 300/t yesterday owing to sluggish market sentiments prevailing over the sponge iron and other semi-finished and finished steel segments. However, a major pellet-maker kept offers unchanged owing to enough existing bookings for the month.
  
  
• NMDC had an iron ore auction from Kumaraswamy mines, Karnataka on 19 Feb. According to sources, 132,000 t fines (Fe 59.15-62.93%) and 252,000 t lumps (10-40, Fe 60.36-64.44%) got booked at INR 3,673-5,527/t and INR 5,292-5,999/t against the base price of INR 3,627-4,389/t and INR 4,072-4,935/t, respectively. Prices are on FOR, ex-stockpile/mines basis and inclusive of royalty, DMF and NMET.
  
  
• NMDC Bacheli had conducted an auction for 88,200 t iron ore from Chhattisgarh on 17 Feb. According to sources, 16,800 t of DRCLO (10-40mm, Fe67%) got booked at INR 8,280/t against base price of INR 7,220/t, in addition, 67,200 t of fines (Fe64%) got booked at INR 6,510/t against base price INR 5,310/t. Prices are on FOR, ex-mines basis inclusive of taxes.
  
  
• East India-based iron ore miner has concluded an export deal for 75,000 t of iron ore fines (Fe 54%) recently. According to the sources, the tender was concluded at 18% discount on iron ore index price (equivalent to $85-87/t CFR China). Thinner margins have supported demand for low/medium grade ore amongst Chinese mills.
  
  
• Asia-Pacific Supramax dry bulk (50,000-55,000 t) freight rates for an iron ore vessel from the east coast of India to China was recorded at $15/tonne (t) on 21 February, inching up by $1/t w-o-w, according to BigMint's assessment. Dry bulk freight rates remained firm this week post-Chinese New Year (CNY) holidays. Movement of ships has been resumed as shipowners are back from their holidays.
  
  

Coal

• Australian premium hard coking coal prices remained unchanged w-o-w to $314/t FOB and $330/ t CNF on 24 Feb'24
  
  
• RB1 (6000 NAR) grade prices remained stable w-o-w to $92/t FOB. Similarly, RB3 remained unchanged w-o-w at $63/t FOB Richards Bay, South Africa.
  
  
• Portside prices of South African RB3 (4800 NAR) thermal coal at Vizag Port recorded at INR 7,300/t, stable w-o-w.
  
  

Ferros Scrap

• In India, purchasers remained wary of booking scrap materials sourced from Europe due to a price difference of at least $20/t. However, a few transactions were noted during the week from alternative regions like Latin America, Central America, and Yemen.
  
  
• Aside from the pricing gap, demand downstream in India stayed subdued as buyers held significant inventories, while distress cargo sales continued in the market, as per industry sources.
  
  
• On a weekly average basis, shredded scrap offers remained at $416/t CFR Nhava Sheva, unchanged from the previous week. Meanwhile, HMS (80:20) offers increased by $2/t to $391/t CFR, up from $389/t CFR in the previous week.
  
  
• Around 2,000-3,000 t of deals were reported this week, consisting of approximately 1,500-2,000 t of HMS scraps from Brazil, Central America, and Latin America in the range of $385-395/t CFR. Additionally, 400 t of turning boring scrap was sold at $355-375/t CFR and 250 t of PNS from Brazil at $410/t CFR.
  
  

Ferro Alloys

• On 23 February, Indian ferro chrome (HC 60%, Si:4%) prices shoot up by INR 3,200/t ($39/t), reaching INR 121,000/t ($1,460/t) exw-Jajpur Prices rose after conclusion of OMC's chrome ore auction which saw aggressive bidding and higher premiums.
  
  
• On 23 February, silico manganese (60-14) was trading at around INR 67,700-68,100/t ($817-$822/t) exw Durgapur, Raipur, and Vizag. Prices were sturdy amid there was consistency in export inquiries and hesitancy in the domestic market in accepting higher offers.
  
  
• Indian ferro silicon (FeSi:70%) prices remained largely stable, with a minor drop by INR 300/t ($4/t) ex-Guwahati and Bhutan. As of 23 February, BigMint reported ferro silicon prices in India at INR 106,300/t ($1,282/t), down INR 600/t ($7/t) exw-Guwahati and INR 106,850/t ($1,289/t) exw-Bhutan, stayed constant.
  
  
• Ferro manganese (HC70%) prices declined, despite consistent overseas inquiries. Ferro manganese prices in Raipur and Durgapur on 23 February varied between INR 67,700 and INR 68,000/t ($817-$820/t), down INR 550/t ($7/t).
  
  

Semi-Finished

• Indian semi-finished steel prices increases as per BiglMint's assessment. Domestic billet prices increased by INR 150-1,000/t in all key regions, with a major increase of INR 1,000/t seen in Hyderabad market. Similarly, sponge iron prices in almost all key locations also increased by INR 100-700/t, with a major increase of INR 700/t seen in Durgapur market. However, sponge iron prices only in Raipur fell slightly by INR 50/t.
  
  
• SAIL's Durgapur Steel Plant held an auction for 2,000 t of steel grade pig iron on 23 Feb'24. The total quantity was booked at an average price of INR 37,850/t exw.
  
  
• SAIL-Rourkela Steel Plant held an auction for 6,000 t of steel grade pig iron on 21 Feb'24. Out of total quantity was booked at an average price of INR 36,700/t exw.
  
  
• An auction for around 2,000 tonnes of melting scrap, which consists of pooled iron fines, LRS fines, pig iron fines, and dry pit jam, will be organized by Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL).
  
  
• Indian DRI (Direct Reduced Iron) exports offers to Nepal decreased by approximately $5/t, reaching $348/t on CPT Raxaul, and offers to Bangladesh remained stable at $360/t on CPT Benapole.
  
  

Finished-long steel

• Finished Long Steel (IF Route):India's induction furnace route finished long steel witnessed an uptick in prices w-o-w. Manufacturers received moderate bookings which led to a slight hike in offers. A similar trend in sponge iron and steel billet prices further led to the current scenario. Although there has been an improvement in trading activity, purchasers are still cautious before making large purchases because of the ongoing shift in the market direction. As per the participants, market is likely to remain volatile in the near term.
  
  
• On a weekly basis, in rebar steel prices increased in the range of INR 200-1000/t across the regions as per BigMint assessment shows.
  
  
• The trade reference price of Fe 500 grade rebar manufactured via the IF route for 10-25 mm size was assessed at INR 42,800-43,200/t exw Raipur, INR 48,500-49,000/t exw Jalna.
  
  
• Trade reference price of heavy structural steel for base size 150mm channel stands at INR 45,200-45,500/t exw Raipur.
  
  
• Trade reference prices of wire rod hovering at INR 42,900-43,400/t ex Raipur.
  
  
• BF-Trade-level prices of blast furnace (BF) rebars dropped w-o-w across markets as slow buying interest weighed on the market sentiments. Market participants continued to destock their inventories amid subdued market sentiments and uncertainity.
  
  
• Current week's rebar prices (12-32mm, Fe500D) in the trade segment dropped by INR 200/t w-o-w to INR 51,600/t exy-Mumbai. Prices are exclusive of GST at 18%.
  
  
• In the projects segment, prices are hovering around INR 49,500-50,000/t FOR Mumbai basis, down by INR 500/t against last week's price levels.
  
  
• Currently, buyers are procuring for projects which are at verge of completion and have adopted wait-and-watch mode until new projects are announced in elections this year.
  
  

Finished flate steel

• • • At the trade level, hot-rolled (HR) coil prices and cold-rolled (CR) prices remained stable.
      
      
    • BigMint's recent assessment on 20 February 2024, reported a bi-weekly increase in tune of INR 100/t for HRC (IS2062, Gr E-250, 2.5-8mm) to INR 53,900/t () ranging between INR 53,000-54,000/t. Whereas that of CRC (IS513, Gr O, 0.90mm) averaged at INR 61,600/t, within the bounds of INR 61,500-62,500/t. These prices are quoted ex-Mumbai, excluding 18% GST, and are for cut-to-length (CTL) form.
      
      
    • Limited trading activities due to liquidity concerns and import pressure, continues to restrict any upward movement in the traders' market price levels. Mills might try aligning their list price tags with those of the former, opined a few industry sources. Also, participants are now keenly awaiting the mills announcement for March 2024 sales.
      
      
    • BigMint's India HRC (SAE 1006) export index factoring in the Vietnamese and the Middle East (ME) markets- stood unchanged at $597/t FOB on the east coast. The export offers quoted for ME was stable at $630-635/t CFR. However, offers for HRC (S275, 3mm) to the European Union (EU) edged down by $5/t to $700-705/t CFR Antwerp.
      
      
    • The bulk HRC and plates import volumes have reached 3,13,235t till 19 February 2024, as per the vessel line-up data maintained with BigMint.