Weekly round-up: Semi-finished steel prices volatile even as primary mills hike rebar offers

Domestic induction furnace finished long steel offers witnessed a downtrend in prices. They decreased in the range of INR 100-800/t. Trade reference prices for hot rolled coils (HRCs) and cold rolled coils (CRCs) remained range-bound in most regions with a maximum fall of INR 1,200/t seen in the market.

Iron ore and pellets

• BigMint's bi-weekly domestic pellet (Fe 63%) index, PELLEX, inched up by INR 50/t w-o-w at INR 9,200/tonne (t) DAP Raipur on 15 March. The pellet market in Raipur faced challenges as no trading activities were witnessed in the last two to three days. Most of the buyers remained silent amid fluctuations in prices and few were waiting for the price drop as considering current offers too high.
  
  
• NMDC conducted iron ore auctions from Chhattisgarh on 13 Mar'24. Around 147,000 tonnes (t) of iron ore got booked. From Bacheli mines, 105,000 t of fines (Fe 64%) were sold at a bid price of INR 5,430/t against the base price of INR 5,350/t. Around 42,000 t of DRCLO (10-40mm, Fe 67%) got booked at INR 7,310/t and 8,400 t of ROM remained unsold. About 42,000 t of ROM (10-150mm, Fe 65.5%) remained unsold from Kirandul mines. Prices are on FOR basis, including taxes.
  
  
• BigMint's India pellet (Fe 63%, 3% Al) export index (FOB east coast) decreased by $7.5/tonne (t) to $97.5/t on 13 March 2024. No deals were recorded from the east coast of India in this publishing window. The pellet export market dropped this week amid sluggish sentiment and lack of demand from Chinese buyers. Bids from buyers were recorded at low levels against sellers' offers due to poor finished steel demand in the domestic Chinese market. Also, pellet inventories at the portside have increased to a one-year high.
  
  
• BigMint's weekly Indian low-grade iron ore fines (Fe 57%) export index fell by $12/t w-o-w to $62/t FOB east coast on 14 March 2024. A deal of iron ore fines (Fe 57%) was heard concluded at a 19-20% discount to the index earlier this week but could not be confirmed at the time of publication. Iron ore fines prices in the seaborne market saw a sharp drop this week due to the poor performance of global iron ore spot and futures prices. Buyers inquired about material, but their bids remained around $10/t lower than levels deemed viable by the sellers looking to sell material.
  
  

Coal

• Australian premium hard coking coal prices dropped by 24% w-o-w to $232/t FOB and $291/ t CNF on 16 Mar'24 amid oversupply of material.
  
  
• RB1 (6000 NAR) grade prices remained stable w-o-w to $98/t FOB. Similarly, RB3 remained unchanged w-o-w at $66/t FOB Richards Bay, South Africa.
  
  
• Portside prices of South African RB3 (4800 NAR) thermal coal at Vizag Port recorded at INR 8,000/t, rose by INR 100/t w-o-w.
  
  

Ferros Scrap

• In India, the demand for imported scrap remained lackluster as buyers continued to primarily procure from the domestic market due to its cost-effectiveness. Shredded scrap offers dropped by $3/t to $403/t CFR on a weekly average basis, while HMS (80:20) stood at $377/t CFR, down by $5/t compared to $382/t CFR.
  
  
• A representative from a steel mill commented, "We are currently not interested in purchasing imports. Turkiye has halted its purchases if prices drop by more than $10/t. Indian buyers are expected to resume bookings, but with elections approaching, market activities are anticipated to remain sluggish.
  
  

Ferro Alloys

• Silico manganese:Indian silico manganese prices declined by INR 650/t ($8/t), prices witnessed a continuous fall w-o-w, as per BigMint data. Prices were under pressure because of domestic demand and rising competition with overseas suppliers. Export prices for silico manganese (60-14) were $815/t FOB, inched down by $3/t from Vizag/Haldia, while silico manganese (65-16) prices were valued at $915/t, fell by $3/t.
  
  
• Ferro Manganese:Ferro manganese (HC70%) prices remained largely stable with a marginal drop in prices as the global demand witnessed no major change and market players took decisions cautiously. Ferro manganese prices in Raipur and Durgapur on 15 March were at INR 66,500/t ($802/t) down by INR 200/t ($2/t) and INR 66800 ($806/t) inched up by INR 100/t ($1/t).
  
  
• Ferro Silicon:Indian ferro silicon (FeSi:70%) prices diminished by INR 1,000/t ($12/t) ex-Guwahati and Bhutan. Prices dropped as demand remained limited and sellers wanted to clear their inventories as the financial year-end is round the corner. As of 15 March, BigMint reported ferro silicon prices in India at INR 102,000/t ($1,245/t),exw-Guwahati and Bhutan.
  
  
• Ferro Chrome:On 15 March, Indian ferro chrome (HC 60%, Si:4%) prices dropped by INR 3,500/t ($42/t), reaching INR 116,000/t ($1,399/t) exw-Jajpur. Prices dropped as negotiations progressed and with drop in offers, deals were concluded. However, prices of the 304 grade stainless steel held steady w-o-w at INR 180,000/t ($2,172/t) exw-Mumbai. Due to lower import costs, demand remained down, and for the 200 series, demand was similar primarily because the financial year conclusion approached.
  
  

Semi-Finished

• Indian semi-finished steel prices decreases as per BigMint's assessment. Domestic billet prices in all key locations decreased significantly by INR 400-1,000/t across regions, with a major decrease of INR 1,000/t seen in Goa. Similarly, sponge iron prices also decreased in key locations by INR 200-900/t, with a major decrease of INR 900/t seen in Ramgarh market.
  
  
• SAIL-Rourkela Steel Plant held an auction for 5,000 t of steel grade pig iron on 13 March'24. The entire quantity was booked at an average price of INR 36,650/t exw.
  
  
• Indian DRI (Direct Reduced Iron) exports offers increased by approximately $1-4/t, reaching $360/t on CPT Raxaul, and $365/t on CPT Benapole.
  
  

Finished-long steel

• Finished Long Steel (IF Route):India's induction furnace route finished long steel prices witnessed a downward trend w-o-w. Weak buying enquiries at higher offers compelled sellers to reduce the prices as well as offer attractive discounts. As buyers booked adequate material in the past few weeks, they resorted to need-based buying at the moment. Taking into account the raw material trend( sponge iron and steel billet) and current market scenario, participants expect prices to remain volatile in the near term.
  
  
• On a weekly basis, in rebar steel prices decreased by upto INR 1,100/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 48,700-49,300/t exw Jalna.
  
  
• Trade reference price of heavy structural steel for base size 150mm channel stands at INR 45,300-45,600/t exw Raipur.
  
  
• Trade reference prices of wire rod hovering at INR 43,000-43,500/t ex Raipur.
  
  
• BF-Trade-level prices of blast furnace (BF) rebars remained range-bound on weekly basis across markets as state-owned steelmakers have increased rebar prices by INR 500/t early this week. Rebar inventories with Tier-1 mills have fallen to 3-month low levels of around 5,00,000 t amid production cuts opted last month. Current week's rebar prices (12-32mm, Fe500D) in the trade segment inched upwards by INR 100/t w-o-w to INR 52,000/t exy-Mumbai. Prices are exclusive of GST at 18%.
  
  
• In the projects segment, prices are hovering around INR 50,000-50,500/t landed Mumbai basis.
  
  

Finished flate steel

• At the trade level, hot-rolled (HR) coils (IS2062, Gr E250, 2.5-8mm) and cold-rolled (CR) (IS513, Gr O, 0.9mm) prices have remained rangebound in the assessed markets However, Bangalore prices have dropped by INR 1,200/t ($15/t), bringing the range to INR 55,000-56,000/t ($664-676/t), and Ahmedabad prices have decreased by INR 900/t ($11/t), with the new range being INR 55,000-56,000/t ($664-676/t).
  
  
• Limited trading activity continues to plague the market driven by the selling pressure with the financial year-end approaching soon.
  
  
• BigMint's India HRC (SAE 1006) export index (for the Middle East and Vietnam) inched down to $590/t FOB east coast India against $593/t FOB last week.

  Meanwhile, Indian HRC export prices to Europe (S275, 3mm) stand at $660-670/t CFR Antwerp ($610-620/t FOB east-coast India), down from last week's $665-675/t CFR Antwerp.
  
  

• India's export of bulk hot-rolled coil (HRC) and plates were 2,96,173t till 11 March 2024, according to vessel line-up data tracked by BigMint.
  
  
• India's imports of bulk hot-rolled coil (HRC) and plates were at 64,021t during the same period.