India: Trade-level BF-rebar prices hit 5-month high in Apr'24
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Trade-level blast furnace (BF) rebar prices continued to rise as mills' increased list prices by INR 500-1,500/t ($6-18/t) during the week, sources informed BigMint. Trade-level prices followed suit and witnessed an uptick of INR 700-1,600/t ($8-19/t) across markets and are currently hovering at a 5-month high as similar levels were last seen during early-November 2023, BigMint data showed.
But some sizes faced shortages as inventory levels have already dropped to 3.5-3.75 lakh tonnes (t) in the beginning of April and some tier 1 mills' have taken maintenance shutdowns, market sources informed. This has led to a hike in offers by the steelmakers.
Trade-level BF rebar prices increased by INR 1,300/t ($16/t) w-o-w to INR 56,300/t ($675/t) exy-Mumbai as per BigMint's assessment on 26 April, 2024. In the projects segment, prices were hovering around INR 55,000-56,000/t ($660-672/t) FOR Mumbai. Demand from end-users was need-based only as they procured cautiously.
Factors behind market dynamics:
1. IF-rebar prices drop w-o-w: Trade prices of induction furnace (IF) rebars witnessed a downfall across markets amid slow buying activities during this week as adequate bookings were observed in the past few days. Prices of raw materials like billets and sponge iron also fell w-o-w. Current IF-rebar prices have remained stable since the past few days at INR 51,300/t ($615/t) exw-Mumbai. Furthermore, prices might remain range-bound in the near term. It must be noted that IF-based mills command 65-70% share in the rebars market.
The gap between BF-IF rebars widened to INR 4,000-4,500/t ($48-54/t) as compared with INR 3,500-4,000/t ($42-48/t) in the previous month as tier-1 mills announced interim price hikes in rebar prices during the month.
2. Rise in prices of raw materials: Prices of key steel-making raw materials, iron ore fines and coal increased w-o-w. BigMint's weekly Odisha iron ore fines Fe62% index increased by INR 350/t ($4/t) to INR 4,950/t ($59/t) ex-mines. Prices of fines rose following good response in OMC's auction.
Australian premium hard coking coal (PHCC) prices rose by $19/t w-o-w to $260/t CNF Paradip as compared to $241/t CNF in the preceding week. Prices rose on enhanced buying and a deal of 40,000 t was heard to have been concluded by a major Australian miner.