Indian pig iron firms are waiting for Neelachal Ispat to declare fresh prices, which is delayed due to logistical concerns.
Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL), state owned and India’s largest merchant pig iron manufacturer is yet to declare fresh prices, which last expired on 15th June 2018. NINL has a production capacity of around 1 million tonnes pig iron and they sell its cargo through open price circular.
SteelMint learned from market sources that, NINL is facing issues with railway rakes to transport their pig iron which was sold in last circular.
“NINL has managed to get decent booking in previous price circular, however that cargo has not been dispatched completely. There is limited supply of railway rakes at the moment and transporting it through road will not be viable” said a participant from the last tender.
NINL was offering steel grade at INR 28,500-28,900/MT (USD 420-426) and foundry grade at INR 30,000/MT (USD 442) on ex-mill basis, excluding GST of 18%.
Will Indian Pig Iron Prices Fall?
There is very high chance that pig iron prices may fall in coming weeks owing to increasing supply and falling billet prices.
Notably steel prices in Indian domestic market have corrected by over INR 1,000-2,000/MT (USD 15-30) in last couple of weeks, amid seasonal slowdown.
Also pig iron exports from India have slowed down owing to high price disparity between domestic and global offers. Indian domestic offers are trading at a premium of INR 2500/MT (USD 36).
Market feels, if NINL cuts down their prices at the moment, pending deliveries (which is at higher price) will get impacted
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