India: Mixed pricing signals seen in BF rebar market in early-Nov’25

• IF-rebar prices drop m-o-m in Oct’25
• Property registrations decline m-o-m

The Indian blast furnace (BF) rebar market witnessed mixed pricing signals in early-November 2025. Some leading primary mills increased rebar prices by up to INR 1,250/tonne (t) ($14/t) for early-November 2025 deliveries as against those prevailing in end-October, sources informed BigMint. Meanwhile, others rolled over their prices against previous levels.

Post-revision, list prices stood at INR 47,000-48,000/t ($530-541/t) on landed basis. It should be noted that mills had offered discounts/rebates to augment sales last month.

Trade-level BF rebar prices rose by INR 500/t ($6/t) w-o-w to INR 47,800/t ($539/t) exy-Mumbai, as per BigMint’s assessment on 7 November 2025. Prices are exclusive of GST at 18%. Demand remained sluggish in the trade channel last month owing to the festive season and the extended monsoon.

In the projects segment, prices opened at INR 45,500-46,500/t ($513-524/t) FOR Mumbai basis.

Rebar inventories at Tier-1 mills increased by 15% m-o-m in early-November, sources informed.

Update on projects

• In October 2025, NCC secured INR 710 crore in new orders — INR 590.9 crore in the buildings segment and INR 119.1 crore for transportation-related work — adding to the earlier major project secured of INR 6,828.94 crore.
• RITES received an INR 372.68 crore order from NIMHANS for project management consultancy of a new OPD building at its Bengaluru campus.
• Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) emerged as the lowest bidder for an INR 272.08 crore Central Railway EPC project for a traction substation and related infrastructure in the Daund-Solapur section.

Factors behind market dynamics

1. Raw material prices show mixed trend: Raw material prices witnessed divergent trends in October 2025.

BigMint’s Odisha iron ore fines (Fe 62%) index dropped by INR 100/t ($1/t) m-o-m to a monthly average price of INR 5,300/t ($60/t) ex-mines in October. Odisha’s iron ore market remained firm in October as OMC’s auction sales tightened supply. Trading was muted amid the festive holidays, limited production, and dispatch issues, with stable prices supported by tight availability and cautious buying from steelmakers.

Australian premium hard coking coal (PHCC) prices rose by $5/t m-o-m to an average of $208/t CNF Paradip in October 2025.

2. IF rebar prices drop m-o-m: Trade-level IF rebar tags witnessed an m-o-m drop in October 2025. Early gains, driven by stronger semi-finished steel prices and improved bookings, were offset by subdued trading ahead of the festive season. High inventories of 12-15 days and cautious market sentiment persisted, prompting some manufacturers to offer discounts to sustain sales. Rebar prices dropped by INR 1,900/t ($21/t) m-o-m to a monthly average of INR 42,200/t ($476/t) exw-Mumbai in October 2025.

The BF-IF rebar monthly average price gap stood at around INR 4,500-5,000/t ($51-56/t) in Mumbai. IF rebars hold a dominant 65-70% market share in India.

3. Property registrations drop m-o-m: Property registrations in Mumbai, the country’s largest real estate market, dropped by 7% to 11,200 units in October as against 12,070 units in September, as per data released by Knight Frank India. Additionally, registrations were down by 14% from 12,960 units in the same period last year.

Outlook

Trade-level prices of BF-route rebars may remain range-bound in the near term due to a price hike by mills. Meanwhile, demand is still slow.