Billet prices were unchanged in Raipur but fell in Mumbai. Market participants are hoping for a further decline in steel semis in the Mumbai market for the next couple of days.
The daily Davis Index for billet in Raipur was unchanged at Rs43,500/mt ($585/mt) ex-works on Thursday as buyers remained silent.
Some billet suppliers in Central India were unwilling to reduce prices after healthy bookings on Wednesday. Demand on Thursday, however, cooled off. Pellet sponge prices were flat at Rs31,800/mt ($428/mt) ex-works Raipur with slow trading. The daily index for rebar fell by Rs100/mt to Rs45,700/mt ($615/mt) ex-works Raipur.
In Odisha, sponge iron prices have lost steam as expected by most buyers.
In Mumbai, the daily index for billet declined by Rs300/mt ($4/mt) to Rs45,200/mt ($608/mt) ex-works, while the index for rebar remained flat at Rs50,500/mt ex-works.
In Mandi Gobindgarh, the daily index for ingot fell by Rs100/mt to Rs45,900/mt ex-works.
In Durgapur, the bi-weekly index for billet declined by Rs43,200/mt to Rs42,000/mt on Thursday compared to Tuesday.
($1= Rs74.38)