Iron ore & pellets-
- SteelMint’s weekly index for Odisha iron ore fines (Fe 62%) has remained unchanged at INR 7,800/t (ex-mines, including Royalty, DMF & NMET). However, tightness of high-grade ore availability is still prevailing in the market which has supported prices and miners have kept offers unchanged from last week.
- A major Australian miner has increased the low-grade iron ore discount for May ’21. SteelMint learnt from market participants that the company has increased the discount of SSF low-grade fines (Fe 56.7%) from 10.5% in Apr ’21 to 18% for May ’21 deliveries. Increased preference for high-grade ore by Chinese mills resulted in the weakening of demand for low-grade ore, thus necessitating an increased discount.
Coal-
- The Chinese domestic metallurgical coke market strengthened this week with the third round of price hike proposed by coking plants having been accepted by some steel mills. CoalMint assessed the latest price for domestic met coke with 12.5% ash in North China at CNY 2,220/t ($350.27/t), up CNY 70/t ($12.76/t) from last week.
Scrap & Metallics-
- SteelMint’s domestic steel scrap index marginally increased to INR 38,100/t DAP Mandi Gobindgarh. Scrap prices increased a bit on the back of improving conversion spread from scrap to ingot by around INR 200-300/t.
- Turkey imported scrap price increased to over one-month high as seen in a recent deal. Price for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stands at $447/t CFR Turkey, up around $20/t w-o-w.
Semi-finished steel –
- SteelMint’s daily billet index has been assessed at INR 41,600/t (+400) exw Raipur on 1st May’21 at 16:00 IST. The index remained strong on account of active demand from the local & outside states. Thus, the suppliers have raised their offers according to acceptance.
Finished steel –
- AM/NS India raised HRC and CRC price by up to INR 4,500/t ($61) on the backdrop of bullish trends in the global market. Current Indian steel prices are still at discounted levels as compared to imported HRC from China and FTA nations.
- JSW steel, a major private steel maker has recently suspended offering HRC export offers for Europe as it exceeded its quota. The company is planning to take necessary action once EU Commission announce their policies on 01 July, SteelMint learned from its authentic trade channels.
- India’s leading branded structural steel tubes manufacturer, APL Apollo Tubes Limited, has increased pipe price by INR 2,500/t to INR 66,500/t($897/t) FoR Chhattisgarh, from 01 May onwards.
Ferro alloys –
- Manganese Ore (India) Limited (MOIL) conducted an e-auction of 725 t HC ferromanganese of different grades (HC 63-72%) on 28th Apr from their Balaghat Plant. The entire quantity of 600 t HC ferromanganese (70-72%) got booked at INR 82,600/t (1.23 % higher than the floor price).
- State-owned, MSTC-Karnataka, conducted an e-auction of manganese ore on behalf of Sandur Mines (SMIORE) on 29 Apr. In total 13 bidders participated in the auction, and the entire auctioned quantity of 23,499t was booked at 5.40 % above the floor price. The base price for the auction remained unchanged as compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, better demand and higher prices of Silicomanganese were the main reasons for this good response.
- Japan’s Silicomanganese and ferrosilicon imports increased by 21% and 17% respectively, while there was a marginal fall in ferrochrome imports in Mar ’21 compared to Feb ’21 in line with healthy demand and higher production of crude steel and stainless steel.
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