India: Sponge iron prices remain under pressure amid subdued demand - 25 Aug

• Only sellers offering aggressive discounts able to close deals
  
  
• Prices see mixed trends amid muted semis, finished demand
  
  

India's sponge iron market continued to face pressure today, with prices showing a mixed trend across key production hubs. Overall sentiment remained weak, with limited trades and muted demand from the semi-finished and finished steel segments.

Key highlights

• PDRI: Prices declined by INR 100-300/t in most regions amid weak buyer interest, with Jharsuguda witnessing the steepest fall of INR 300/t. However, Durgapur bucked the trend, gaining INR 200/t.
  
  
• CDRI: Prices slipped by INR 100/t in Rourkela, Raigarh, and Ramgarh. Conversely, Bellary, Mandi Gobindgarh, and Durgapur witnessed modest gains of INR 200/t, largely supported by localised demand and short-term supply constraints.
  
  

In the billet and rebar segments, no major trades were seen today. Market activity was confined to need-based buying, with participants holding off from bulk deals due to the uncertain demand outlook.

Daily trade volume was assessed at around 9,000 t, highlighting low buyer participation. Only sellers offering aggressive discounts were able to conclude deals, pointing to a continued supply-demand imbalance.

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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