India: SteelMint steel scrap index rises by INR 200/t following uptick in semis' prices

SteelMint's domestic steel scrap (end-cutting) index moved up by INR 200/t to INR 42,200/t DAP Mandi Gobindgarh on 16 December, 2022. The index rose as semi-finished steel demand and prices improved in today's trading session.

In morning trade today in Mandi Gobindgarh, in north India, steel ingots prices opened on a negative note at INR 47,000/t but inched up later in the day to INR 47,200/t at the time of reporting and price normalisation.

As per market sources, "Scrap supply is still limited in Mandi and improvement in semis demand supports the price hike in the market."

HR strip patra (148-200mm, 2mm thick) prices inched up by INR 200 to INR 46,900/t exw-Raipur, while prices decreased by INR 200/t to INR 47,800/t exw in Mandi Gobindgarh, excluding GST at 18%.

Snapshots of other markets

Alang: Ship-breaking melting scrap prices in Gujarat's Alang market decreased by INR 500/t d-o-d, as per SteelMint's assessment. HMS (80:20) prices are assessed at INR 37,700/t ex-yard. Semi-finished steel prices fell in yesterday's trading session and buying enquiries for scrap remained limited owing to weak sentiments in the spot market. This forced suppliers in the region to reduce their offers.

Raipur: In central India's Raipur market, billets prices improved by INR 150/t to INR 43,500/t and rebars prices increased by INR 800/t to INR 48,100/t today, while HMS 80:20 prices improved by INR 200/t to INR 38,700/t DAP. This is due to moderate demand for semis and finish steel in today's trading session.

Price highlights

End-cutting and billets spread: In Mandi, the end-cutting scrap and billets spread was at around INR 5,000-5,200/t.

Domestic and imported scrap price gap: Imported melting scrap prices at Nhava Sheva Port were at around $420-422/t (including freight, it comes to approximately INR 36,900/t), while local scrap - HMS (80:20) - prices in Mumbai were assessed at INR 35,800/t.

Raipur sponge iron-billet spread: The current conversion spread (margin) from pellet-based DRI (P-DRI) to steel billets in Raipur stands at around INR 13,600/t.

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