Iron ore & pellets –
- Government-owned miner NMDC’s long-term iron ore export contracts with Japanese steel mills (JSMs) and South Korea’s POSCO, which were to be renewed on Mar 31, 2021, have been delayed. As a result, the movement of its export rakes from Chhattisgarh mines, collated on a monthly basis, show nil in Apr ’21.
- SteelMint’s weekly index for Odisha iron ore fines (Fe 62%) has moved down by INR 200/t to INR 7,600/t (ex-mines, including Royalty, DMF & NMET) in a recently concluded deal. However, there is little chance for any significant downward correction, as material availability is still an issue, especially for high grade.
- Odisha-based major merchant iron ore miner- Serajuddin & Co. has raised lump offers by INR 100/t w.e.f 08 May ’21. The current offer price for lumps 5-18 mm (Fe 63%) has been heard to be at around INR 11,000/t ex-mines (including Royalty, DMF & NMET).
- JSW Steel has also raised iron ore lump offers by INR 200-300/t on 08 May. The current offer for Fe 10-40 mm (62%+ grade) lumps stands at INR 10,600/t ex-mines.
- Ministry of Railway (Govt of India) has released a circular recently on 05 May to all the railway zones for the waiver of demurrage and wharfage charges due to the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.
Coal-
- Chinese domestic metallurgical coke price continued its upward momentum last week on the back of healthy steel margins and supply tightness. The latest price for domestic met coke with 12.5% ash in North China has been assessed at CNY 2,500/t ($393.16/t), up CNY 100/t ($14.26/t) since last week.
- The Vizagpatam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has declared Force Majeure in the Vizag and Gangavaram port between 05 to 19 May ’21 due to the partial lockdown announced by Andhra Pradesh government amid rising COVID cases in the state.
Scrap & metallics-
- In Vizag Steel’s pooled iron auction held on 08 May ’21, the entire material of 1,500 t was booked at INR 36,450/t exw, which is INR 850/t higher compared to the last auction conducted on 26 Apr ’21 when the entire 1,200 t was booked at INR 35,600/t ex-works.
- Indian mill scale exports have regained momentum taking a cue from global iron ore fines price hike which has crossed $212/t CFR China mark. Two deals with a total quantiy of around 50,000 t mill scale export have been concluded at $115-119/t FoB India from Kandla port, sources have reported to SteelMint. Export deals have been concluded for Vietnam & Indonesia.
- SteelMint’s domestic steel scrap index moved up to INR 39,700/t DAP Mandi Gobindgarh. Supply tightness of melting scrap remained the major factor behind this price movement.
- Imported scrap prices in Turkey moved up significantly by $15 against SteelMint’s last assessment on 06 May ’21. A Baltic origin bulk scrap cargo has been booked to the West Marmara region-based steel mill. The cargo comprised of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $488/t, shredded, and bonus at $498/t CFR Turkey levels. The prices have hit an over 10-year high as similar price levels were last seen in Feb 2011.
Semi-finished steel-
- SteelMint daily billet index has been assessed at INR 42,550/t (+550) exw Raipur on 08 May ’21 at 16:00 IST. A total of about 1,900 t billet trades were recorded by SteelMint on 08 May as against 4,200 t the day before. The index rebounded following an active demand & expected power cut in Raigarh, Pujipatra based plants through Jindal Power (Raigarh which is known as major billet supplier in Raipur). The suppliers in Raipur have therefore, kept prices on the higher side on expectations of supply shortage in short term.
- Chinese domestic billet prices saw a significant hike after the labour day holidays and settled at RMB 5,280/t ($821/t) on 08 May. The price rise was in view of the increased SHFE rebar futures, which reportedly witnessed a jump of RMB 274/t ($42/t) after the holidays.
Finished steel-
- Tata Metaliks Ltd (TML), in a recent BSE filing said that they have taken steps to comply with the notification of Government of West Bengal, restricting operations in industries, factories, mills & manufacturing units to 50% of total strength. As a result, the company is expecting a decline in the production of its finished goods, especially DI pipes since the production of these pipes is largely manpower dependant.
- Maruti Suzuki India Limited(MSIL) has announced an extension of its annual maintenance shutdown by an additional week till 16 May ’21 across its manufacturing facilities in the country, SteelMint learned from BSE regulatory filing. The Company took this decision given the current COVID-19 situation in the country.
- Hoa Phat Group – a leading steelmaker in Vietnam has reported a 65% yearly growth in its steel sales volume of 869,000 t in Apr ’21.
- JFE Steel has set a target of 26.5 mn t crude steel production in FY ’22 amid demand recovery. Steel demand in Japan is expected to see a gradual improvement due to recovery in demand in various sectors while in oversees market, it is expected to recover generally due to China’s strong steel demand and economic recovery throughout key markets. The company reported a 15% fall in crude steel production to 22.76 mn t in FY ’21.
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