India: Sponge iron prices show mixed trend amid market volatility – 25 Jan

India sponge iron prices fluctuated across regions today. Prices were on the higher side during the first half of the trading session amid rising steel prices in the northern region. However, later on in the day prices started to fall, which resulted in fewer buying enquiries and weak spot trading.

It has been a while since the market has seen stability and market participants are still not clear about price movements. They are mostly cautious, waiting for the market to stabilise.

About 16,300 t of sponge iron transactions were recorded today in India as against 18,900 t on 24 January.

Snapshots of key markets

• Rourkela: A marginal improvement in spot trade was seen today compared to yesterday. Purchase enquiries increased today amidst rising steel prices in the Punjab market, which pushed producers to float offers at higher levels. However, buying interest slowed down in the second half. Moreover, an export deal of 2,500 t of CDRI mix material (80% FeM) was reported at INR 34,500/t loaded on to wagon (LTW) to Bhutan, by an Odisha-based sponge iron supplier.
• Raipur: The market remained sluggish with no major deal heard. Price levels remained unchanged compared to the last trading day.
• Bellary: Spot buying in sponge iron stayed lower today as buyers remained cautious due to weak market sentiments and poor finished steel sales, which also limited the volume of sponge iron traded.
• Durgapur: Prices rose initially due to the increase in prices in the northern region but did not sustain throughout the day. Spot trades were limited as buyers were cautious about bookings and prices fell marginally by INR 50/t d.o.d.
• Ramgarh: Active trading activities were seen after a long gap amid market volatility. However, buyers booked limited volumes as per immediate requirements.

Rationale –

This index has been derived based on transactions, offers, bids and indicative price data sets. Transactions are considered as T1 and given a weightage of 50% whereas other data sets are considered as T2 and given a weightage of the balance 50%.

Click for detailed methodology

T1 – Trade, T2 – Offer/Bid/Indicative