Ex-India billet prices were kept stable amid silent trade conditions with buyers largely absent owing to year-end holidays, while sellers withheld offers maintaining cautious optimism on the New Year taking cue from tentative stability in ex-China prices and sustained gains in local sales, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles.
Ex-India billet offers from large mills were stable at $480-490/mt FOB but integrated mills were inactive amid backdrop of continued gains in local sales realizations and expectations of economic stimulus in China to start having positive impact on finished steel prices in 2025.
Large government run integrated mills and predominant exporters of semis from the country continued to refrain from submitting offers or floating export tenders for more than two consecutive months, contributing to prolonged inactive export front.
However, the tradable level for the Indian billet was stable at lower level of $460/mt FOB.
“Sellers are not willing to push low priced sales. Buyers are not willing to increase commitments at year end. For both, it is prudent to await a new New Year trend,” an Indian source said.
“Local sales in terms of volumes and prices are decent. There is not much pressure to sell overseas until such time realizations improve. Hence the quiet export activity,” the source said.
Meanwhile, the uptrend in local trade activity gained further momentum riding on the back of improved long product market and demand for semis from secondary mills. Billet trade price was up INR 500/mt ($6/mt) at INR 42,700/mt ($502/mt) ex-Mumbai and gained INR 200/mt ($2/mt) at INR 39,200/mt ($461/mt) ex-Raipur in the central region.
$1= INR 85.10