Indian domestic scrap prices in North gained amid short supply. Steel mills have exhausted their finished steel as well as raw material inventory and are unable to source raw material to meet their daily production targets. Scrap collection and segregation operations across India have either partially or fully halted due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by Rs300/mt($3.96/mt) to Rs20,200/mt($266.7/mt) del Mandi Gobindgarh and the daily Davis Index for sponge iron declined by Rs50/mt in Mandi Gobindgarh to Rs18,550/mt del mills.
Major mills in Maharashtra are located in restricted zones and production is yet to resume or ramp-up in these regions. Scrap traders are waiting for mills to restart operations before procuring scrap from the market. The daily index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) remained unchanged at Rs21,670/mt del Mumbai mills amid thin trades. The index for sponge iron declined by Rs200/mt in Mumbai to Rs17,600/mt del mills as sponge manufacturers are clearing their inventories to improve cash flows.
Market participants are pinning their hopes on to government’s cash infusion plans which could boost the infrastructure and automobile sector and ramp up demand for steel in the domestic market.
($1=Rs75.73)