Nepal: Rebar offers stable; import bookings from India improve

Steel mills in Nepal have kept their rebar offers unchanged this week after raising offers by NPR 1,500/t ($11) last week. Current prices of rebar (12mm) in Nepal are reported at around NPR 91,000-93,000/t ($690-700) exw, excluding VAT. Amidst fairly good offtake at current offers, mills are seen holding back previous rebar offers this week. However, import bookings from India to Nepal, across commodities such as sponge iron, billets and HRC, have gained momentum this week. 

• Sponge import prices rise in recent bookings – The uptick in Indian domestic sponge iron offers continued to drive up imported offers to Nepal. In a recent deal, 3,000 t of P-DRI (80% FeM) was recorded at $390-395/t ex-mill ($415/t CPT Raxaul border) from eastern India. In another deal, 9,700 t of C-DRI (79% FeM, 70:30) was booked at $435-440/t CPT Raxaul border.
• BF-route billet deals from India – BF-route billet offers from India were reported at $590-600/t CPT Nepal, after deals for four rakes were reported earlier this week at $580-585/t CPT Nepal. Fresh offers of IF-route billets from India stand at $585-590/t CPT Nepal, up $5/t w-o-w.
• HRC import prices rise in recent deal – Following price hikes in the domestic and global markets, Indian mills have raised HRC export offers to Nepal. In a recently concluded deal, two rakes (5,400 t) of HRC were sold at $635-645/t CPT Nepal. Prices have risen by $5-10/t w-o-w.

Market participants opine that domestic prices may remain rangebound in the near term.

With steel demand of roughly 2.5 mnt per annum, Nepal has been focusing a lot on the construction sector. The country’s construction sector is said to contribute around 10-11% to its GDP. In addition, Nepal imports nearly 1-1.5 mnt of semi-finished steel and 1 mnt of finished steel annually (both flats and longs), with India being the largest supplier with a share of 95% of total imports.

2nd Nepal Trade Summit

To gain a deeper insight into the changing dynamics of Nepal’s steel industry, book your seat at the 2nd Nepal Trade Summit to be organised by SteelMint Events on 1-2 March, 2023.