India: BigMint's billet index rise marginally by INR 50/t amid weak demand - 18 Nov

Continued weakness in finished steel impact billets
Sponge iron prices decrease by INR 50/t d-o-d

BigMint’s billet index inched up by INR 50/tonne (t) to INR 39,050/t exw-Raipur on 18 November 2024.

The index remained range-bound today, showing a slight uptick influenced by positive cues from neighbouring markets. Despite this minor increase, the overall buying activity was notably weak across both the semi-finished and finished steel segments. Intra-day sentiments remained subdued, which led to variations in spot offers d-o-d.

Continued weakening finished steel demand worsened market sentiments, with buyers resisting further bookings on rising inventory.

In the finished steel segment, rebar and wire rod prices in Raipur continued to remain stable d-o-d. Additionally, prices of sponge iron dropped slightly by INR 50/t d-o-d.

In addition, the conversion spread from sponge iron (PDRI) to billets for standalone furnaces in the region was recorded at INR 13,750/t.

Rationale

This index has been derived based on transactions, offers, bids and indicative price data sets. Transactions are considered as 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) – Two trades at INR 39,000-39,100/t were recorded between 2:30 pm and 5:30 pm during the BigMint trading window. These were considered for the final price calculation as T1 inputs. The average price of these transactions was INR 39,071/t, which was assigned a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
Other price indicators – bids/offers/indicatives (T2) – Eight offers were reported during the trading window and considered as T2 inputs. The average price of these eight offers was INR 39,025/t, which was assigned a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.

The final price of billets exw-Raipur was at INR 39,048/t, rounded off to INR 39,050/t exw.

Click here for detailed methodology