Indian domestic ferrous scrap prices continued their downtrend on subdued finished steel demand. Prices declined despite the tightened supply of scrap.
In the North, the daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) declined by Rs344/mt ($4.63/mt) to Rs21,519/mt ($289.95/mt) del Mandi Gobindgarh. Trades were few. The daily index for sponge iron fell by Rs317/mt to Rs20,975/mt del Mandi Gobindgarh.
Traders adopted a wait-and-watch approach seeking price direction. Infrastructure projects in the pipeline are yet to commence as COVID-19 cases continued to rise in India.
The bi-weekly index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) declined by Rs400/mt to Rs23,000/mt del Indore and the index for sponge iron fell by Rs300/mt to Rs21,000/mt del Indore.
In southern India, the bi-weekly index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) declined by Rs350/mt to Rs21,150/mt del Chennai and the index for sponge iron fell by Rs200/mt to Rs19,300/mt del Chennai.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) and sponge iron settled unchanged at Rs23,150/mt and Rs19,400/mt del Mumbai mills, respectively.
Demand for scrap was subdued since major steel mills utilised built up scrap inventory for production. The bi-weekly index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) and sponge iron remained unchanged at Rs23,000/mt and Rs20,050/mt del Jalna, respectively.
Traders now wait for infrastructure projects announced by the government to commence and give ferrous scrap prices a lift.
($1 = Rs74.21)