- Pellet trade volume increases in Raipur market
- Offers by Raipur, Odisha suppliers remain stable
Pellet prices in the Raipur cluster have remained largely rangebound over the last few days, with some trades concluded by steelmakers. Market participants reported that while offers from Raipur remained unchanged, some suppliers managed to conclude deals to the neighbouring regions.
BigMint’s bi-weekly domestic pellet (Fe63%) index inched up by INR 50/t ($0.5/t) to INR 9,850/t ($113/t) DAP Raipur on 28 February 2025 compared to the previous assessment on 25 February. In this publishing window, around 23,500 t of pellet deals were recorded by BigMint at INR 9,700-10,050/t ($111-115/t) DAP Raipur.
However, overall buying interest remained sluggish as buyers restricted their bookings to need-based procurement, showing no urgency to stock up inventory.
Pellet offers in Raipur for Fe63% (+/- 0.5%) material remained stable at INR 9,700-9,900/t ($112-114/t) exw over the past couple of days. Odisha-based producers offered pellets in Raipur at INR 9,400-9,850/t ($108-113/t) DAP Raipur with some trades heard concluded.
A Raipur-based pellet supplier commented: “We are seeing limited inquiries from local buyers, and some of our material is moving to the nearby regions. However, demand is still not as strong as expected.”
A few buyers opted to procure pellets from Odisha-based plants due to price viability. A buyer informed, “Some Odisha pellet offers seemed more competitive, so we secured some material from there instead of the local suppliers.”
However, despite the recent rise in prices for sponge iron and billets, the trading volumes of pellets have not shown significant improvement. The increase in sponge iron and billet prices has not led to a higher demand for pellets. Buyers are cautious for need base buying only.
Market participants expect NMDC to revise prices for March delivery in the coming days. The market may get clarity on prices after that.
Rationale
- PELLEX has been derived using data points, i.e., trades, offers, and bids. To download the detailed methodology, click here.
- Five (5) deals have been reported so far in this publishing window and Three (3) were taken for calculations. The T1 trade category was accorded 50% weightage.
- Thirteen (13) firm offers, bids, and indicative prices were heard. Nine (9) were taken for price calculation and given the balance 50% weightage.
Factors impacting pellet prices
- Sponge iron tags up w-o-w: P-DRI prices rose by INR 450/t ($5/t) w-o-w at INR 25,000/t ($286/t) exw-Raipur on 28 February. However, prices remained largely stable d-o-d today. Activity remained slowed in today’s trading session amid weak buying interest.
- Billet prices rise w-o-w: Billet prices in Raipur increased by INR 650/t ($7/t) w-o-w to INR 40,000/t ($458/t) exw today. D-o-d, prices remained unchanged. A few deals were witnessed in the evening session of trading, while prices were largely stable.
Outlook
According to BigMint’s analysis, pellet prices in Raipur will get clarity after NMDC’s price revision. Bulk trades are yet to be concluded by steelmakers. Buyers are preferring NMDC iron ore lumps over pellets due to price viability.
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