Indian domestic ferrous scrap prices continued their downtrend on Thursday as trading thinned.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) declined by Rs393/mt ($5.36/mt) to Rs21,600/mt ($294.8/mt) del Mandi Gobindgarh and the index for sponge iron settled unchanged at Rs21,050/mt del Mandi Gobindgarh. Transactions are likely to remain subdued ahead of the holiday on Indian festival of Holi.
In southern India, the bi-weekly index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) fell by Rs175/mt to Rs21,800/mt del Chennai mills and the index for sponge iron fell by Rs575/mt to Rs19,425/mt del Chennai
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) in Mumbai rose by Rs50/mt and settled at Rs23,200/mt del mills and the index for sponge iron declined by Rs100/mt to Rs19,300/mt del mills.
The index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) in Raipur fell by Rs200/mt to Rs23,175/mt del mills and the index for sponge iron declined by Rs200/mt to Rs17,950/mt del Raipur.
Ferrous scrap prices in Jalna and Nagpur were unchanged from Tuesday and the index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at Rs23,000/mt del Jalna and Rs25,000/mt del Nagpur.
Traders believe scrap prices will remain under pressure for the next few days. Prices will rise only when the Indian government’s infrastructural projects start rolling.
Market update
Major primary mills in the country, who have been exporting steel while China remained shut, hiked their prices by Rs700-1,000/mt in March. These mills hope to fill the void in seaborne trade before a glut of finished steel from China affects the market.
($1= Rs73.20)