Prices for domestic ferrous scrap were mixed on Thursday. Only a few regions, however, reported a rise in prices.
The daily Davis Indexes for HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled unchanged at Rs23,800/mt ($324.96/mt) del Mumbai mill, and declined by Rs100/mt ($1.36) to Rs22,300/mt del Mandi Gobindgarh mill. The index for sponge iron fell by Rs300/mt to Rs19,400/mt del Mumbai mill and by Rs150/mt to Rs21,400/mt del Mandi mill.
In other markets, the bi-weekly Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) and sponge iron rose by Rs200/mt from Tuesday to Rs24,700/mt del Indore mill and Rs22,000/mt del mill, respectively. Supply of ferrous scrap has started easing and thus the price gain too was lower compared to Tuesday.
In Ludhiana, the bi-weekly index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled unchanged at Rs24,500/mt del mill, while the index for sponge iron rose by Rs50/mt to Rs22,550/mt del mill.
In Ahmedabad, prices for HMS 1&2 (80:20) declined, dragged by low demand and the bi-weekly index for the grade settled at Rs24,200/mt del mill, down by Rs500/mt from Tuesday. Some local scrap traders even offered the grade at a maximum of Rs23,500/mt del mill, but market participants believe the quality of the material could be comparatively inferior. The index for sponge iron, however, rose by Rs525/mt to Rs22,100/mt del mill. With iron ore exports from India gaining momentum, input prices for sponge iron have increased. Producers thus looked to pass on a partial increase to consumers.
The bi-weekly index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) declined by Rs200/mt to Rs22,600/mt del Hyderabad mill, while the index for sponge iron fell by Rs150/mt to Rs19,250/mt del mill. The sponge iron market could continue to rangebound with minor ups and downs till the end of October, believe mills.
With enough scrap inventories to meet the current demand levels, mills stayed away from purchases. In the coming weeks, however, many market participants hope for rebar demand to rebound. This could give scrap trades an impetus.
($1=Rs73.23)