The daily Davis Indexes for 8Ani and 10Ani fell by Rs600/mt ($11.59/mt) each to Rs35,100/mt and Rs35,000/mt ex-Alang on sluggish demand from the rolling mills in Mandi Gobindgarh and Gujarat. The daily Davis Index for 6Ani declined by Rs650/mt to Rs32,500/mt ex-Alang amid thin trades.
The daily Davis Indexes for 2kg and 5kg plates declined by Rs750/mt each to Rs31,900/mt and Rs32,900/mt ex-Alang with limited deals reported at index price.
Work for infrastructure and construction projects has slowed due to rising finished steel prices. Contractors are unhappy with the increasing project costs. Still, shipbreakers are optimistic about the revival of demand in the coming few weeks. Amendments made by the Indian government to ‘Policy for Providing Preference to Domestically Manufactured Iron and Steel Products in Government Procurement’ (DMI&SP Policy) have mandated projects over the value of Rs500,000 to procure steel from local steelmakers. The limit has been educed from the earlier Rs250mn.
The demand for finished steel continues to remain weak. The daily index for HMS attachments and Melting dropped by Rs600/mt each to Rs30,900/mt and Rs29,900/mt ex-Alang, respectively. Limited transactions were reported at the index price.
($1=Rs73.24)