Local Indian pig iron prices have remained at INR 16,700/mt ($269/mt) ex-works in the past week amid inactive market conditions as buyers have retreated expecting price cuts by producers next month, traders said on Wednesday, January 14.
According to a Kolkata-based trader, buying activity is negligible amid market speculation that major producers like Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) will cut their pig iron prices in February due to the negative outlook in demand and oversupply.
The trader said that apprehensions of oversupply increasing in the market have been fuelled by reports saying that recent export tenders evoked a very poor response from overseas buyers.
Market sources said that the response to a tender for 30,000 mt of pig iron export floated by RINL which expired on January 9 had been far below expectations. Though bid levels could not be confirmed, it is expected that the exporter will either cancel the tender or float a new one at a later date, the sources said.
$1 = INR 62.16