The price gap between ingot and billet has increased by INR 300-400/t to around INR 1,000/t in Raipur and Raigarh as against INR 500-700/t in mid-Jul’21. Decreasing billet supplies in the spot market as well as active demand from the wire rod mills resulted in an increase in the price gap. Recently, three plants in Raipur stopped billet supplies to the spot market due to improved in-house consumption and furnace closures, sources informed SteelMint.
It is expected that billet prices in the central region would remain strong as offers are competitive that could continue to attract buyers from outside, not to forget sufficient orders with suppliers along with higher sponge iron prices. The current conversion rate from sponge P-DRI to billet is hovering at INR 12,500/t in Raipur.
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