India: Raipur sponge iron prices rise on active billet demand

SteelMint’s benchmark pellet sponge (P-DRI, FeM 80%) prices rose by INR 100/t to INR 29,100/t exw Raipur on 16 Jul’21. Enquiries remain active following required support from rising billet demand, which has led to a slight increase in sponge prices, SteelMint observes.

• About 3,000 t of P-DRI deals were reported at INR 28,900-29,100/t as against offers at INR 29,100-29,300/t exw and FoR Raipur. However, a few major buyers expressed purchase interest at INR 28,700-28,800/t exw; however, deals at these levels remained unconfirmed at the time of publication.
• DR CLO grade sponge iron offers increased to INR 31,500-31,800/t, although indicative trade prices remained firm at INR 31,200-31,400/t exw.