An uptick in demand and a shortage of ferrous scrap in some parts of the country gave HMS 1&2 (80:20) prices a lift. Though, in Mumbai, Mandi Gobindgarh and some other parts in North India, demand is unlikely to be on an upward graph as these areas continued to deal with a high caseload of COVID-19.
In Indore and Ahmedabad, demand from mills remain moderate. Supply of scrap, however, remains scarce. The bi-weekly Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at Rs21,900/mt ($292.3/mt) del Indore mill, up by Rs900/mt from last Thursday, while the index for sponge rose by Rs250/mt to Rs19,250/mt del mill. In Ahmedabad, the indexes for sponge iron and HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by Rs575/mt to Rs17,500/mt and by Rs100/mt to Rs21,000/mt del mill, respectively. Deals for #1 HMS were heard at Rs22,000/mt del mill.
Markets in North India many mills continue to operate at lower than usual capacity. The bi-weekly indexes for sponge iron and HMS 1 &2 (80:20) settled flat at Rs19,400/mt and Rs21,350/mt del Delhi mill. In Ludhiana, the index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by Rs250/mt to Rs21,500/mt del mill amid lesser availability. The index for sponge iron, however, fell by Rs500/mt to Rs18,800/mt del mill.
The daily index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by Rs200/mt to Rs19,900/mt del mill, but the index for sponge iron declined by Rs600/mt to Rs18,800/mt del mill.
Maharashtra continues to be a COVID-19 and with the movement restrictions more stringent than in other states, the Mumbai market remained unchanged on Tuesday. The daily Davis Indexes for HMS 1&2 (80:20) and sponge iron settled unchanged at Rs20,100/mt and Rs16,000/mt del Mumbai mill, respectively. Prices in Jalna, however, showed an uptick as trades took place telephonically. The bi-weekly index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at Rs20,000/mt del Jalna mill and the index for sponge iron was at Rs18,150/mt del mill, up by Rs150/mt.
In South India, the bi-weekly Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at Rs21,200/mt del Chennai mill, up by Rs200/mt but the index for sponge iron fell by Rs150/mt to Rs16150/mt del mill. Though the Tamil Nadu government’s lockdown is set to continue until July 31, certain restrictions have been relaxed to enable economic sustenance in the region. Thus, soon as the market reopened, a few trades were reported.
($1=Rs74.90)