Local Indian
pig iron prices have continued to lose ground for the second consecutive week, moving down by INR 200/mt ($3/mt) over the past week to around INR 17,800/mt ($290/mt) ex-works amid falling prices of long products and the piling up of stocks of steel grade
pig iron at dealers, traders said on Wednesday, November 5.
According to a Kolkata-based trader, the fall in prices has been sharpest in central Indian markets around Raigarh where there has been no interest in fresh purchases of steel grade
pig iron, as prices of long steel products have weakened considerably.
The falling prices of imported scrap, which have moved down by about $8/mt to about $332/mt CFR Mumbai, have also resulted in weakened demand for local steel grade
pig iron and most dealers are reported to be carrying higher inventories, the trader said.
Sources said that the market is waiting for direction from the export tender floated by government trading house MMTC Limited for 30,000 mt with the last date for submission of bids extended until November 12.
The trading house was forced to extend the last date for submission of bids after it failed to get a response for its tender during October. This has dampened market sentiment and raised concerns of producers pushing increased volumes into the local market as exports dry up, the sources said.