Ex-India billet prices showed no change over the past week, with most sellers not submitting offers due to a lack of optimism regarding deals working out. Weak demand and expectations of further declines are keeping buyers away in most key destinations. This information was obtained from trade and industry circles on Wednesday, June 18.
Sources said that ex-India billet prices remained stable at $415-425/mt FOB and even though declining trend seemed to have paused, buyers were still unwilling to commit trades perceiving a bottom to be still some distance away.
According to sources, at least two mills based in eastern India commenced negotiations for modest volumes with Asian buyers at a starting price of $415/mt FOB, which was at the lower end of the range. However, no deals were successful as neither of the sellers were willing to offer an additional discount.
"The export trade is full of pessimism. The price has bottomed out for local sellers. However, buyers in key Asian and Middle Eastern markets feel that the market has not yet reached rock bottom. Demand is unlikely to increase immediately during the rainy season. Hence, all the factors are negative for deals to be concluded overseas,' said sources at Jindal Steel and Power Limited.
‘Steel futures are rising slightly in China, but this is not due to sentiment or demand fundamentals. It is not sufficient to trigger any change in the bearish physical market. Indian sellers are coping with adverse conditions both locally and overseas,” the sources added.
In the local market, billet merchant trade prices continued to fall, although the rate of decline eased slightly. The billet trade price fell by INR 400/mt ($5/mt) to INR 39,500/mt ($458/mt) ex-Mumbai, and by INR 200/mt ($2/mt) to INR 38,150/mt ($442/mt) ex-Raipur in the central region.
$1= INR 86.33