The daily Davis Index for billet in Mumbai on Thursday went up further by Rs250/mt ($3.34/mt) and settled at Rs28,450/mt ($380.5/mt) ex-works owing to sustained buying from steel rolling mills and increase in input cost. Few billet deals were reported at Rs28,400/mt.
The daily Davis Index for rebar in Mumbai also increased by Rs100/mt ($1.33/mt) and settled at Rs31,200/mt ($417.27/mt) ex-works in line with the rise in billet prices.
In Raipur, the daily index on Thursday for billet surged by Rs600/mt ($8.02/mt) and settled at Rs28,400/mt ($379.83/mt) ex-works due to increase in pellet sponge iron and local scrap prices. Pellet sponge iron prices were at Rs16,800-17,000/mt ex-works Raipur. As per sources from steel mills, there is a shortage of iron ore in Central India which has caused increase in sponge iron prices. The daily Davis Index for rebar also went up by Rs400/mt (5.34/mt) and settled at Rs31,000/mt ($414.6/mt) ex-works Raipur.
In Mandi Gobindgarh, the daily index for ingot was up by Rs350/mt ($5.34/mt) to Rs30,550/mt ($407.24/mt) ex-works on Thursday with a similar rise in scrap prices. The daily index for rebar was up by Rs100/mt to Rs35,900/mt ($480.13/mt) ex-works.
In Durgapur, the bi-weekly index for rebar plunged by Rs883/mt ($11.8/mt) to Rs30,217/mt ($404/mt) ex-works on Thursday from Rs31,100/mt on Tuesday amid sluggish demand along with 2-days-a-week lockdown. Mills preferred to stock rebar inventory pinning hopes on revival of demand post monsoon.
The index for billet dropped by Rs100/mt ($1.33/mt) to Rs27,200/mt ($363.65/mt) ex-works Durgapur. However, prices of sponge and scrap are on an upward trend putting pressure on manufacturer’s input cost, cited manufacturers.
In Chennai, the bi-weekly Davis Index for rebar fell by Rs334/mt ($4.46/mt) to Rs34,583/mt ($462.3/mt) ex-works on Thursday amid subdued demand from Tuesday. A few trades were reported at the index price. The index for billet on Thursday, however, rose by Rs567/mt ($7.5/mt) to Rs30,000/mt ($401.042/mt) ex-works from Tuesday on global cues as Turkish ferrous scrap prices rose by $7/mt within a week. Moreover, a supply crunch due to persisting labour shortage added to manufacturer’s woes. This resulted in tightening of spreads for mills in the region by Rs4,583/mt ($61.2/mt).
In Gujarat, the bi-weekly index for rebar went up by Rs250/mt ($3.34/mt) on Thursday to Rs 32,050/mt ($428.64/mt) ex-works from the prior index on Tuesday. The index for billet was also up by Rs550/mt ($7.35/mt) to Rs28,550/mt ($381.83/mt) ex-works. Spreads have narrowed for secondary mills in Gujarat as price of raw materials is rising but rebar prices are not, coupled with moderate demand.
In Jalna, the bi-weekly indexes on Thursday for rebar remained unchanged at Rs 31,500/mt ($421.29/mt) while billet increased by Rs150/mt ($2/mt) to Rs28,450/mt ex-works
In Ludhiana, the bi-weekly index for ingot remain unchanged at Rs 30,900/mt ($413.26/mt) ex-works from the previous index on Tuesday.
($1= Rs74.77)