The domestic ferrous scrap prices in India rose on Tuesday amid gradual increase in demand from finished steel makers.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by Rs600/mt ($8.13/mt) to Rs24,400/mt del Mumbai mills, while the index for sponge iron was flat at Rs20,300/mt del Mumbai mills.
Mills in the North have started working at full capacity and are stocking-up raw material. The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by Rs300/mt to Rs22,800/mt del Mandi Gobindgarh, while the index for sponge iron remained flat on Tuesday at Rs22,800/mt del Mandi Gobindgarh
As per market participants in Jalna, demand from the mills is firm and few transactions were reported for HMS 1&2 (80:20) at the index price which rose by Rs400/mt to Rs24,300/mt del Jalna mills on Tuesday.
Sponge iron manufacturers in Bellary are offering Rs19,300/mt ex-works as input cost has increased amid slowdown in mining activities.
The indexes for sponge iron in Durgapur rose by Rs400/mt to Rs20,900/mt and for HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by Rs300/mt to Rs24,300/mt del Durgapur mills.
Markets in South India has picked-up and trades were reported at the index price, which rose by Rs750/mt to Rs23,500/mt del Chennai for HMS 1&2 (80:20) while for sponge iron it rose by Rs400/mt to Rs20,700/mt del Chennai mills.
Global prices of ferrous scrap are spiking and Turkish mills are paying a lot for the domestic scrap, while imported HMS prices are being quoted at $305-306 cfr India port which is up by $6/mt from last week. Due to shortage of domestic scrap in India, mills are preferring to buy imported HMS. However, border tension between India and China is impacting trade as well with exporters shying away from Indian market.
Markets in Indore reported low trades. The indexes for HMS 1&2 (80:20) declined by Rs100/mt to Rs24,700/mt del mills, and for sponge iron rose by Rs100/mt to Rs23,500/mt del Indore mills.
($1=Rs73.74)