North India: Punjab based mills hold fresh bookings of sponge iron

With the recent price rally, major billet makers & traders in Mandi Gobindgarh, Punjab have stopped making bookings for sponge iron, SteelMint learned from sources. At prevailing offers, the landed cost of sponge C-DRI is reported at around INR 25,000/t, while the local melting scrap is INR 24,000-24,500/t FoR, with metal recovery of ~ 90%. Hence, in order to maintain input cost, mills are going to reduce sponge consumption, sources reported.