- Buyers adopt cautious stance amid higher BF tags
- IF rebar tags drop w-o-w amid moderate buying
Trade-level blast furnace (BF) rebar prices declined w-o-w amid slow domestic demand across Indian markets. Buyers adopted a cautious approach and were reluctant to purchase at higher tags following successive price hikes by mills. Trade-level BF rebar prices edged down by INR 100/t ($1/t) w-o-w to INR 57,100/t ($669/t) exy in Mumbai, as per BigMint’s assessment on 18 April 2025. Prices are exclusive of GST at 18%.
In the projects segment, prices hovered at around INR 56,500-57,500/t ($662-673/t) FOR Mumbai. Demand from end-users remained moderate this week.
Factors behind market dynamics
1. IF rebar prices drop w-o-w: Trade prices of induction furnace (IF) rebars dropped w-o-w amid moderate buying activity across major markets. Mills received decent bookings in recent days, but buying interest at higher prices was need based. There was no inventory pressure on mills, with holding periods averaging 7-8 days. Trade prices are expected to remain range-bound in the near term. According to BigMint’s assessment, IF rebar prices declined by INR 100/t ($1/t) w-o-w to INR 49,300/t ($577/t) exw-Mumbai as on 18 April 2025.
The BF-IF rebar price gap stood around INR 7,500-8,000/t ($88-94/t) in Mumbai, where IF rebars hold a dominant 65-70% market share.
2. Raw material prices show mixed trends: Big Mint’s Odisha iron ore fines (Fe 62%) index remained stable w-o-w at INR 5,200/t ($61/t) on 12 April 2025. Iron ore prices in Odisha were supported by major merchant miners announcing fresh offers, which were slightly higher than previous rates. Additionally, demand was steady, and miners received new environmental clearances (ECs) for FY’26.
Australian premium hard coking coal (PHCC) prices increased by $6/t w-o-w to $192/t CNF Paradip.
Outlook
Prices of trade-level rebars, both BF and IF, may remain range-bound in the coming days amid limited buying activities.
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