India: Brass honey scrap prices remain rangebound w-o-w; weak buying, margin pressure persist

• Weak buying and margin pressure keep brass honey scrap market subdued
  
  
• Rising input and energy costs keep conversion margins under pressure
  
  

Brass honey scrap prices in Jamnagar remained largely rangebound w-o-w on 1 May 2026, amid subdued buying activity and cautious market sentiment. Demand continued to be primarily need-based, while weak fund rotation and limited spot liquidity kept overall market activity slow.

Brass honey scrap prices were assessed at INR 760,000/t, broadly unchanged from the previous week, reflecting muted trade flows and cautious procurement behavior. Trades were largely restricted to immediate requirements, with minimal interest in bulk bookings.

Supply conditions remained stable to slightly tight, with availability of quality material continuing to be a concern. At the same time, rising input and energy costs, along with operational constraints in key processing hubs, kept conversion margins under pressure and impacted overall market sentiment.

Market scenario

The brass honey scrap market in India remained under pressure, with buying activity slowing across wire rod and downstream processing segments. Procurement stayed cautious as limited availability of quality material and rising input costs weighed on overall trade sentiment.

A key challenge remained the shortage of quality scrap in the domestic market, which pushed ingot costs higher despite limited improvement in end-product demand. With constrained availability, producers were forced to procure raw material at elevated levels, keeping conversion margins under pressure and limiting buying to need-based requirements.

In Jamnagar, several units continued to operate at reduced capacity due to operational constraints, particularly gas supply issues, resulting in intermittent shutdowns and disrupted production flow.

Rising energy costs further impacted processing economics, with higher furnace oil prices increasing melting costs and limiting profitability. In several cases, operations were reported at minimal or negligible margins, as finished product prices did not adjust proportionately.

On the export front, activity remained subdued, with demand from China weakening temporarily due to holiday-related slowdown, creating a gap in export-linked demand. Meanwhile, EU-origin brass honey scrap prices were heard around 59.5% of 3M LME, though this offered limited support to overall trade flows.

Overall, the market remained characterized by weak fund rotation and cautious buying behavior, with liquidity constrained and traders avoiding aggressive positions amid uncertain margins and inconsistent demand signals.

Outlook

BigMint expects Jamnagar brass honey scrap prices to remain largely rangebound in the near term, with sentiment guided by subdued buying activity, cautious procurement, and weak fund rotation. Demand is likely to stay need-based, while limited spot liquidity may continue to keep overall market activity slow.

Tight availability of quality material, along with rising input and energy costs, is expected to keep conversion margins under pressure and restrict aggressive buying interest. At the same time, operational constraints at processing units and subdued export demand, particularly from China, may continue to weigh on trade flows.

Overall, the market is likely to remain slow-moving, with limited improvement in liquidity and margins in the near term.