Indian government-owned steel manufacturing enterprise Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) reported a significant decrease in its periodic pig iron auctions in Apr’21, with total sales reaching just around 63,350 tonne (t), showing a month-on-month (m-o-m) decrease of 22.79% against Mar’21.
After falling below the 60,000t-mark in Jan’21, pig iron sales bounced back in Feb’21 and Mar’21, touching 84,850t and 82,050t respectively. But, in Apr’21, the sales momentum dropped compared to the last two months.
In Apr’21, a majority of the total material allocated for auctions came from SAIL’s Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) and Bokaro Steel Plant. While 26,900t were booked from RSP, Bokaro witnessed auctions for over 22,800t of steel grade pig iron. Around 10,650t were sold from the Bhilai Steel Plant, located in Chhattisgarh.
Prices firm up
After a significant jump in Mar’21, semi-finished steel prices again observed a steep rise in Apr’21. SteelMint assesses that the weighted average pig iron prices from Bhilai Steel Plant in Apr’21 were reported at INR 39,300/t against INR 36,050/t in Mar’21.
Similarly, the weighted average price at the RSP auctions jumped to INR 38,250 /t in Apr’21 from INR 35,400/t in Mar’21. Bokaro Steel Plant’s weighted average pig iron prices jumped from INR 34,900/t in Mar’21 to INR 37,150/t in Apr’21.
Prices at SAIL’s Burnpur unit increased by INR 3,750/t (m-o-m) in Apr’21, while during the same period prices in the Durgapur unit increased by INR 2,950/t (m-o-m).
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