The Indian billet export market has remained quiet so far this week. However, bid prices rose in a recent tender hosted by a state-owned mill. Last week a tender was floated for 30,000 t blooms (150*150mm, 3SP/4SP grade) but the mill canceled the tender amid high price expectations. According to our sources, the tender fetched the price levels of $561-563/t, FoB India, while the company was expecting around $570/t, FoB levels.
However, yesterday (05 Jan ’21) the mill has again invited bids for spot sale export of 30,000 t blooms (150*150mm, 3SP/4SP grade). The payment term for this tender is 100% advance.
On the other hand, other primary mills continue enjoying domestic realizations. For instance, currently, the domestic billet prices are between INR 42,000-44,000/t ($574-600/t) exw, and the conversion cost to finished products is around INR 4,000/t ($55/t), while finished prices are hovering at INR 52,000-55,000/t ($710-750/t) exw. Hence, we haven’t heard any substantial offerings from these mills. However, the indicative offers were at $570-580/t, FoB.
“We are presently not interested in offering billets for export considering higher realizations in the domestic market. Notably, Indian primary mills have lifted rebar prices by INR 2,500-3,000/t for Jan’21. However, considering the current scenario, our export price expectation is around $575-580/t FoB levels”, shared a market participant from a primary mill.
SteelMint’s bi-weekly assessment for Indian billet (150*150mm, FoB east coast, BF route) is $565-570/t, up by $5 against last week.
Outlook: The Indian domestic market is likely to remain robust amid strong demand. Hence, the majority of the mills would remain focused on the domestic market and are likely to pose limited interest in the global market. However, a few port-based mills may continue offering in the export market on better realizations.
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