- Kandla prices rise on strong exporter demand
- Deals remained absent in Jalna
Indian mill scale prices shows mixed movement during the latest assessment period, with Kandla witnessing a marginal increase while Raipur and Jalna prices remained stable. Exporter-driven demand continued to provide strong support to the Kandla market, while limited fresh buying and ongoing dispatches against earlier orders kept activity relatively subdued in Jalna. In Raipur, higher seller offers supported price levels, although traders remained cautious about fresh procurement at elevated rates.
BigMint’s Fe 69% mill scale assessment for Kandla increased by INR 50/t w-o-w to INR 7,500/t DAP Kandla, while Raipur prices remained at INR 7,400/t ex-works. Jalna prices edged down by INR 50/t to INR 6,250/t ex-works. The regional divergence reflects stronger export-linked demand in Kandla, firm seller expectations in Raipur and comparatively weaker spot demand in Jalna.
Kandla: Export demand strengthens market
Kandla mill scale prices edged higher as exporter demand remained strong following the commencement of vessel activity. Market participants reported prices largely ranging between INR 7,300-7,700/t DAP Kandla, with some buyers reportedly procuring material at the upper end of the range. Exporters have been actively replenishing stocks, reducing inventory pressure among sellers and supporting near-term price levels.
Mill scale supplies from Jalna continue to reach Kandla, while some auctions have also taken place; however, the response from buyers has remained mixed. Despite this, demand from exporters is currently absorbing available material at a healthy pace. Around 1,000 t of deals were recorded during the publishing window at INR 7,500-7,600/t DAP Kandla.
Market participants expect demand to remain supportive, although prices are likely to stay rangebound as the availability of material continues to balance demand. The current market is characterised by a relatively healthy demand-supply equilibrium rather than a significant shortage.
Raipur: Higher offers meet cautious trading
Raipur mill scale prices remained stable but with a firm undertone, as sellers continued to quote higher prices for fresh bookings. However, traders are facing difficulty in passing these higher costs to buyers in outside markets, limiting their willingness to procure aggressively at current levels.
Despite this resistance, transactions continued at higher price levels as some traders are reportedly building stocks in anticipation of further price increases. Sellers, meanwhile, are generally not accumulating inventory and are selling material soon after production, even when available quantities are relatively small.
Around 3,600 t of deals were recorded during the publishing window in the range of INR 7,050-7,600/t ex-works, indicating continued market activity despite the gap between seller expectations and downstream realisations.
Jalna: Fresh demand remains limited
Jalna remained the weakest of the three markets, with mill scale prices holding at INR 6,300/t ex-works. Market activity remained subdued as traders continued to focus on dispatching previously booked volumes, while fresh procurement remained limited.
Mills continued to quote higher prices for fresh material, but buyers showed limited willingness to commit at these levels amid relatively weak spot demand. No fresh deals were reported during the assessment window, suggesting that the market is currently being driven more by execution of earlier commitments than by new purchasing activity.
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