Local Indian pig iron prices have dropped sharply during the past week, declining by INR 500-800/mt ($8-13/mt) to about INR 17,500-17,600/mt ($283-285/mt) ex-works due to the negative outlook for secondary steel plants and the downward revision of base prices by pig iron producers, traders said on Wednesday, November 26.
According to market sources, Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL) has announced a downward price adjustment of INR 1,200/mt ($19/mt) for pig iron for December shipments and an additional volume discount of around INR 700/mt ($11/mt).
Other large domestic producers like Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) are also expected to adjust their prices before the end of the month, the sources added.
A Kolkata-based trader said that the downward price adjustment has been the largest in the current year and clearly indicates that inventories held by producers and traders have reached unsustainable levels and a sharp price correction was necessary if volumes are to be kept moving in the market.
Sources said that several secondary steel plants in the central Indian province of Chhattisgarh are facing shutdowns owing to the high price of coal and slender margins from production of billet.
$1 = INR 61.85