Indian steel mills booked fewer export deals for semi-finished steel, such as billet and bloom, amid an increase in domestic demand.
An Indian state-owned mill likely booked 60,000 t blooms at $395-400/t, on an FoB India basis, via an export tender. Shipment is expected on 30 Sep’20 with China as the likely destination. The company’s other tender for 60,000 t blooms received limited bids in the range of $390-395/t, FoB India, SteelMint learned from its sources. However, the result of the second tender could not be confirmed at the time of publishing this report.
An export tender for 125*125 mm billet for sale in SE Asia is still under negotiation.
SteelMint assessed Indian billet (150*150mm) export price at $395-405/t, FoB India.
Rebar futures in China saw a sharp rise of RMB 65 ($9) 31 Jul-4 Aug’20 period, closing at RMB 3840/t (~$550/t) on 4 Aug’20.
Chinese bids for imported billet have not moved higher in line with an increase in rebar futures and were mostly unchanged this week. Bids are currently at $415-420/t, CFR China, for Indian billet. Few Indian mills are targeting $430/t CFR China levels for billet export.
Indian domestic billet prices witnessed a sharp hike: Yesterday, Indian billet prices saw a sharp hike. The SteelMint daily billet index (Exw Raipur) was assessed at INR 29,500/t ($392/t) on 4 Aug, up by INR 1,100 ($15) from the last assessment done on 01 Aug’20. Improved trade and recent price hike (around INR 1,000-2,000/t in finished steel) announced by Indian primary mills have turned domestic market sentiments optimistic.
Future outlook: Indian mills may continue to focus on domestic markets and offer fewer cargoes in export markets.
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