Ex-India billet prices have been kept stable over the past week as a few large mills have resumed submitting offers to key destinations amid expectations of improved demand for November shipment onwards, but deals have still remained elusive as the stray bids received have still been on the low side, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Wednesday, September 24.
Indian mills have been active in pushing offers in the Middle East, keeping prices unchanged in the range of $430-440/mt FOB, but the bids received have been lower and, with buyers seeking $445-450/mt CFR Gulf, which translates to $425/mt FOB at best, deals have failed to work out.
Despite a lack of trade activity, sellers remain optimistic for a demand revival in November and expect that buyers’ resistance to current prices will ease over the next few weeks. In this situation, together with the local market stabilizing in terms of price and off-take, mills have been unwilling to cut offer levels in a hurry and have preferred to wait for the export market to consolidate.
“The mood in some Asian markets is improving, not so much the prices and actual deals. But with local merchant billet prices and volumes also improving, exporters can afford to hold back and wait for the expected rebound once bookings for November shipment start after the local festival holidays,” an Indian source said.
“We are still cautious. The market can improve in terms of trade activity and buying. But markets across Asia will remain price-sensitive,” he added.
Meanwhile, the local billet market has showed signs of stabilizing and even recorded some gains in prices in select regions. Billet merchant trade prices are stable at INR 39,400/mt ($88.72/mt) in Mumbai, while they have gained INR 1,400/mt ($16/mt) to INR 37,000/mt ($417/mt) ex-Raipur in the central region.
$1 = INR 88.73