- Cautious buying persists as finished steel demand weakens
- Finished steel prices continued to remain stable in Raipur
BigMint’s billet index edged up marginally by INR 100/tonne (t) d-o-d to INR 37,800/t exw-Raipur on 24 December 2025, even as overall market activity remained modest. Buyers continued to adopt a cautious approach, reflecting concerns over volatile market sentiment and weakening demand in the finished steel segment.
Market participants indicated that mixed cues from neighbouring regions kept trade sentiment uncertain. At the same time, a slowdown in finished steel offtake further curtailed appetite for fresh billet bookings. Elevated offer levels also weighed on buying interest from neighbouring markets, resulting in limited spot transactions throughout the session and subdued overall sentiment.
Price highlights
- Finished steel: In Raipur, rebar and wire rod prices remained stable, in line with subdued downstream demand and weak buying interest.
- Sponge iron: Prices in Raipur inched up by INR 50/t, with only limited deals reported across varied offer levels.
The conversion spread from PDRI to billet for standalone induction furnaces in Raipur was assessed at INR 14,550/t, indicating stable margins despite weakness in billet prices.
Rationale
This index is derived based on transaction, offers, bids, and indicative price data sets. Transactions are considered T1 and given a weightage of 50%, whereas other data sets are considered as T2 and given a weightage of the balance 50%.
- Transactions (T1) – Three trades at INR 37,700-37,900/t were recorded during the 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm BigMint trading window and considered for final price calculation as T1 inputs. The average of these transactions was INR 37,782/t, which was given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
- Other price indicators – bids/offers/indicatives (T2) – Eleven offers were reported in the trading window and considered as T2 inputs. The average price of these eleven was INR 37,831/t and given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
The final price of billets was INR 37,806/t exw-Raipur, rounded off to INR 37,800/t exw.
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