Semi Finish (MS Ingot/Billet) price rally continues as prices increased by INR 8,00-1,000/MT W-o-W in Western, Central and Eastern region. North India market reacted late as demand of finish steel were dull due to new VAT implementation by 1 Feb, 2014.

Market Sentiments Pan India

Mumbai:

• Offers for melting scrap in Mumbai are up by INR 400-600/MT to INR 27,000/MT (Including all taxes) against previous week offers
• Shortage of Scrap: Quantity of imported Scrap increases, but shortage remain owing to increased Ingot/Billet production              

Note: Data showing Qty of Imported Scrap (Mumbai) Month wise.
Qty for January is till 11 Jan, 2014

• Re-bar production growth (supporting Ingot/Billet sales) is higher compared to increase in Ingot/Billet production. Owing to this, prices of Ingot/Billet up by INR 600/MT in W-o-W, whereas Re-bar prices increased by INR 600/MT in same period
• Structure prices raised by INR 700/MT in a month’s time.

[su_quote cite=”commented a Re-bar Manufacturer based in Wada (Mumbai).”] Any further improvement in prices is not expected from this position as the construction sector which is the major buyer of finished steel is witnessing slower activities[/su_quote]

Durgapur:

Shortage of Semi-Finish (Ingot/Billet): From the total production of Ingot/Billet, 50-60% material is sold to states outside Bengal. Presently 10-15% of the material is being sold to South, 10-20% in nearby states, 10-20% export and 5-10% is being sold to Mandi Gobindgarh respectively.

Selling of material to other states from Bengal is creating shortage of the material resulting to hike in prices of Ingot/Billet and Re-bar by INR 1,400-1,600/MT in M-o-M.

Rise in Demand of Finish Steel: Sales of Re-bar has improved with increase in volume. Price of Re-bar 12 mm is at around INR 38,800/MT (Including all taxes). In the previous month, Re-bar manufactures were selling Re-bar at around 200-400 tonnes per day. While, currently sales of material is nearly at 800-1,000 tonnes per day, with material being sold to local market and nearby states.

Increase in Price of Raw Material: Prices of Sponge iron improved by INR 1,700/MT in a month’s time.

South:

From past one week, South market (Chennai, Kerala and nearby areas) remain silent owing to Pongal. No major trading activity has been noticed in last 3-5 days. According to market participants trading activity will start from Monday.