Major steelmakers across India remain shut in compliance with the rules set amid the COVID-19 lockdown in the country. Ferrous scrap prices were flat for yet another day.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) remained unchanged at Rs20,150/mt ($264.48/mt) del Mandi Gobindgarh and the index for sponge iron was at Rs20,000/mt del Mandi Gobindgarh.
Tata steel, JSW and Sail have announced production cuts despite the steel ministry’s appeal to continue production at usual rates. Demand for steel in the infrastructure and real estate sectors has ground to a halt with closure of all non-essential activities in the country. Induction furnaces have also stopped any melting activity.
Scrap consignments booked in earlier months have reached ports or Inland Container Depots. But mills or traders are finding it nonviable to collect them due to increase in freight charges and production halts.
The bi-weekly index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) remained unchanged to Rs21,000/mt del Chennai and the index for sponge iron remained flat to Rs18,800/mt del Chennai.
In Durgapur, Raipur, Hyderabad, Goa, Indore and Ahmadabad, the bi-weekly indexes for HMS 1&2 (80:20) remained unchanged at Rs22,475/mt, Rs 22,050/mt, Rs22,450/mt, Rs21,000/mt, Rs22,200/mt and Rs23,400/mt, respectively.
The government of India has extended its existing foreign policy for one year. The Directorate General of Foreign Trades (DGFT) has also pitched in to support buyers by issuing circulars to shipping lines to waive off demurrage and detention charges. If the lockdown extends, traders and small mills could find it difficult to bounce from financial losses resulting from suspension of operations and close their units for good.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) and sponge iron settled unchanged at Rs22,450/mt and Rs17,900/mt del Mumbai mills, respectively.
The bi-weekly index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) and sponge iron remained unchanged at Rs21,950/mt and Rs19,750/mt del Jalna, respectively.
($1= Rs76.18)