SteelMint | Morning Brief

Iron ore & pellets –

• SteelMint’s weekly low-grade Indian iron ore fines (Fe 57%) export index increased by $3 to $91/t FOB east coast India. Demand for low grade ore continues to remain weak in China with discounts for low-grade ore widening to 34 to 35%.
• Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) conducted an auction today for 52,000 t iron ore fines from its Dalli mines in Chhattisgarh. The material put to auction was of grade ranging from Fe 58.10% and Fe 56.33%. No bids were received for the entire material put to auction due to the lower grade of material.
• Anglo American, one of the major global iron ore miners has recently announced its quarterly results. The miner’s iron ore output from Kumba increased by 10% to 10.6 mn t in Q1 CY ’21 as compared with 9.6 mn t in Q1 CY ’20. The increase in production was largely driven by improved plant availability and good progress on scheduled plant maintenance.

Coal –

• The port side prices for South African RB2 (5500 NAR) coal saw a correction of INR 200/t this week as buyers moved to the sidelines in view of increasing COVID cases and restrictions. At Gangavaram, prices were assessed at INR 6,600/t. Given the strict COVID-19 restrictions in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, trading activities from the two states remained largely muted, whereas demand from Odisha, West Bengal and southern part of the country remained slow but steady.

Scrap & Metallics –

• Imported scrap prices to Turkey have rebounded in recent bookings, concluded for deep-sea bulk cargoes for May shipments. SteelMint’s assessment for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) currently stands at $425/t CFR Turkey, up by $5/t w-o-w.
• China imported 38,602 t of ferrous scrap in Q1 CY ’21 registering an exponential rise on a y-o-y basis. In fact, the Q1 ’21 quantity is even higher than the total imports of CY ’20.
• SteelMint’s domestic steel scrap index increased to INR 37,300/t DAP Mandi Gobindgarh basis. Healthy semi-finished steel transactions and shortage of oxygen cylinders at stock yards have resulted in buyers hiking their bids.
• Benchmark sponge iron (P-DRI) prices remained stable yesterday at INR 29,400/t ($392), exw Raipur, Central India. The sponge iron demand continued to be weak despite a sharp rise in billet prices by INR 600/t, d-o-d.
• SAIL conducted an auction for 4,900 t of basic grade pig iron on 22 Apr ’21 from its Rourkela Steel Plant, Odisha. Entire quantity was booked at INR 38,600/t exw, sources reported to SteelMint. Bid price moved up by INR 270/t compared to the previous auction conducted on 13 Apr.

Semi-finished steel –

• SteelMint’s daily billet index has been assessed at INR 41,900/t (+600) exw Raipur on 22nd Apr ’21, 18:00 IST. The prices are rising on expectations of further decline in furnaces’ production due to the oxygen crisis and limited workforce.
• Iranian mills are targeting higher prices in the upcoming billet export tender. SteelMint’s bi-weekly assessment for Iranian billets is $585-590/t, FoB Iran, up by $5 w-o-w.

Finished steel –

• Indian HRC and CRC trade prices continue to remain at an all-time high post announcement of a third price hike by major steel mills for April deliveries. SteelMint’s benchmark prices for 2.5mm thick HRC currently stands at INR 64,500-65,500/t and CRC at INR 77,000-78,000/t (exy-Mumbai). The prices mentioned are basic and GST extra @18% is applicable.
• World’s crude steel output aggregated to 169.2 mn t in Mar ’21, rising by 15% against 146.88 mn t in same period last year.
• Europe’s leading steel mill, ArcelorMittal has increased the coil prices by Euro 30/t. The current price of HRC stands at around Euro 1,000/t as compared to its previous offer of Euro 970/t floated last week.

Ferro alloys –

• Indian ferrosilicon prices increased due to supply shortage in the domestic market. On the other hand, the demand continues to see decent levels from the ferrosilicon consumers. Most of the producers are therefore overbooked and the traders are taking advantage of the situation. Currently, ferrosilicon prices in Bhutan are at INR 107,000/t, and in Guwahati at INR 109,000/t ex-works.
• Indian chrome ore miner, OMC postponed their chrome ore auctions from 13 to 23 April. They announced a reduction in the base prices by around 25% from the previous month. This reduction is attributed to the falling ferrochrome prices and the pessimistic outlook due to limited Chinese demand.