India: BigMint's billet index rises INR 250/t despite limited buying - 20 Mar

• Limited buying due to higher offers
  
  
• Finished steel prices up INR 400/t d-o-d in Raipur
  
  

BigMint's billet index increased by INR 250/t, reaching INR 41,300/t exw-Raipur on 20 March 2025.

The index continued its upward trend today, supported by improved buying in the semi-finished and finished steel segments. However, billet buying activity was constrained due to sufficient bookings at lower offers done in the past few days.

In the finished steel segment, rebar prices rose further by INR 400/t, while wire rod prices increased by INR 300/t d-o-d. Additionally, sponge iron prices in Raipur inched up by INR 100/t today.

The conversion spread from sponge iron (PDRI) to billets for the standalone furnaces in the Raipur cluster was recorded at INR 15,400/t.

Rationale

This index is derived based on transaction, offers, bids, and indicative price data sets. Transactions are considered T1 and given a weightage of 50%, whereas other data sets are considered as T2 and given a weightage of the balance 50%.

• Transactions (T1) - Two trades at INR 41,150-41,400/t were recorded during the 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm BigMint trading window and considered for final price calculation as T1 inputs. The average of these transactions was INR 41,342/t, which was given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  
• Other price indicators - bids/offers/indicatives (T2) - Thirteen offers were reported in the trading window and considered as T2 inputs. The average price of these thirteen was INR 41,300/t and given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  

The final price of billets was INR 41,321/t exw-Raipur, rounded off to INR 41,300/t exw.

Click here for detailed methodology