- Buyers remain cautious on uncertainty regarding price direction
- Finished steel prices show mixed trends d-o-d, sponge iron drops
BigMint’s billet index edged lower by INR 200/tonne (t) d-o-d to INR 37,700/t exw-Raipur on 23 December 2025, as subdued enquiries and cautious market sentiment weighed on overall activity. Despite minor price corrections in select trades, buyers largely maintained a wait-and-watch stance amid uncertainty surrounding near-term price direction.
Trading activity remained limited, with participants avoiding bulk bookings and closely tracking finished steel price movements before committing to fresh procurement. Sellers, supported by adequate bookings in previous sessions, kept offers largely on the higher side. Meanwhile, buyers preferred to hold positions, assessing the sustainability of prices amid continued volatility and sluggish demand.
Market highlights
- Finished steel: In Raipur, rebar prices increased by INR 300/t, while wire rod prices remained stable. Overall activity stayed slow as participants refrained from additional bookings due to sufficient volumes ordered previously.
- Sponge iron: Prices in Raipur declined by INR 200/t, pressured by competitive offers from neighbouring regions and lower bids.
- Conversion spread: The PDRI-to-billet conversion spread for standalone induction furnaces in Raipur was assessed at INR 14,500/t, indicating squeezed producer margins in a weakening market environment.
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 37,700-37,800/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 37,728/t, which was given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
- Other price indicators – bids/offers/indicatives (T2) – Ten offers were reported in the trading window and considered as T2 inputs. The average price of these ten was INR 37,712/t and given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
The final price of billets was INR 37,720/t exw-Raipur, rounded off to INR 37,700/t exw.
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