Prices of finished steel are increasing in India on the back of three reasons. One is the production cuts undertaken, especially in longs, from January, which helped to restore the supply-demand imbalance that had been plaguing the market especially since the second half of last year. Secondly, pre-election restocking demand unleashed from March in particular, which helped to keep prices supported. Rising demand, especially for longs, helped to keep demand for scrap as a raw material for induction furnace mills, supported. Thirdly, there is a raw material cost push. The billet index, ex-Raipur, is averaging INR 43,000/t ($516/t) in April against March’s INR 40,000/t ($480/t). Sponge iron, exw-Rourkela, is up at INR 29,500/t ($354/t) in April against INR 26,600/t ($319/t) in March.
