India: Sponge iron prices slide; cautious buying keeps market under pressure

• Sellers maintain offers, buyers limit bookings
  
  
• Weak semis demand exerts downward pressure
  
  

India's sponge iron prices declined by INR 50-400/tonne (t) d-o-d across regions on 27 April 2026. In the benchmark Raipur market, prices fell by INR 150/t to INR 25,900/t exw.

Buying activity remained low to moderate during the day, with subdued bidding amid cautious buyer sentiment. Sellers largely maintained their offers, restricting room for negotiations and keeping bookings limited, with only a few deals concluded amid cautious sentiment.

In the downstream segments, demand in the semi-finished market stayed muted, though the finished steel segment witnessed moderate buying interest. This kept overall sentiment in the sponge iron market on the softer side.

BigMint recorded trade volumes of around 10,200 t, compared to approximately 5,700 t in the previous session indicating moderate activity levels. However, overall market participation remained cautious, reflecting restrained buying interest across the market.

Rationale

Prices have been derived based on transactions, offers, bids, and indicative price data sets. Transactions are considered as T1 and given a weightage of 50%, whereas other data sets are considered as T2 and given a weightage of the balance 50%.

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