Market corrects on falling Steel futures; Ingot likely to remain high on rising input cost

Ingot prices correct in physical market on falling Steel futures which
had corrected over 300 points in the morning trade.

Traders and brokers feel that market should not correct much as higher
input cost will keep prices up and
TMT manufacturers are unwilling to cut their prices on falling Ingot
prices. 

In Chennai, Ingot was traded at Rs 43,000/MT (Ex-works) on Monday evening and was being quoted around Rs 42,800/MT (Basic price) in Tuesday's morning
trade. Very few trades were witnessed in the market as most of the furnaces are
non-operational owing to power issues. 

“Ingot is being
procured from other states and are offered at cheaper rates than quoted by
local manufacturers. Market is quite confusing and unclear. We hope to see some
direction by Monday,” said a broker based in Chennai.

“Power tariff in
Raipur is anticipated to go up by 0.40-0.60 paisa per unit. Manufacturer lacks
buying and selling guidance as the Sponge iron prices are high at one end that
is souring at Rs 24,500-700/MT (Basic price, payment next day) and Ingot prices on the other end have come down
by Rs 200/MT from yesterday”s close at Rs 33,400-500/MT (Basic price, payment next day),” said an Ingot manufacturer
from Raipur.

“Market players view correcting ingot prices as an opportunity
to buy material as power prices are looking to go up to some extent. There are few
sellers of the product at these levels,” he further added. 

“Trading volumes have been low as market is unclear and directionless
due to change in power tariff
and raw material cost,” said Steel
traders.