The daily Davis Index for rebar in Raipur settled flat at Rs32,800/mt ($442.64/mt) ex-works.
The daily index for billet increased by Rs150/mt ($2.02/mt) and settled at Rs28,650/mt ($386.63/mt) ex-works Raipur, with a marginal rise in pellet sponge iron prices. Billet manufacturers raised offers by Rs200/mt to Rs28,700/mt. Rebar mills actively booked billets on Friday. Bids, however, were at Rs 28,600/mt..
Pellet sponge iron prices in Raipur rose to Rs18,100-18,200/mt on Friday up by Rs100/from the prior day.
In Mumbai, the daily Davis Index for rebar also settled unchanged at Rs35,100/mt (473.68/mt) ex-works. Rebar trades, which were showing signs of recovering on Thursday, slowed again on Friday.
Manufacturers believe, input costs are likely to rise in the near term as Indian currency depreciated against the US$ last week. Indian rupee stood at Rs74.1 against US$1 on Friday from Rs71.84 on Feb 28. This could drive finished steel upwards in the near term.
The daily Davis Index for billet in Mumbai increased by Rs500/mt ($6.74/mt) and settled at Rs31,100/mt ($417.91/mt) ex-works. Billet offers were at Rs31,200/mt, but buyers were not interested at those prices.
In Mandi Gobindgarh, the daily index for ingot rose by Rs200/mt to Rs31,350/mt ($423.07/mt) ex-works driven by a rise in ferrous scrap prices.
($1= Rs74.1)