Local Indian billet prices have continued to move down gradually, while export quotations have remained stable, while trading activity has improved for small volumes, even though most deals were heard to have been at a discount, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Thursday, November 2.
Large local mills have maintained their tradable levels for billets in the export market unchanged at around $490/mt FOB, but some sellers are rumored to have concluded deals for small tonnages at discounts.
Sources said that, even though prices have remained subdued, there was a slight improvement in the mood on the emergence of buying activity, though for small tonnages.
According to trade circles, an Odisha-based mill sold 15,000 mt to an Asian buyer at $475/mt FOB, while another eastern India-based seller made a trade at an official price of $480/mt FOB, while market intermediaries claimed the price to be slightly below this. The deals could not be confirmed by the import side, though the price for Asian buyers translates to around $505-510/mt CFR and could be competitive.
“Buyers are trickling in on the perception that the semis market may have bottomed out. But deals are only working out if sellers are agreeing on discounts,” a source at an Indian mill said.
“The fact that buyers are showing interest is a positive after a prolonged silence on the export front. But it is too early to mark this as a turnaround. Deal sizes are still too small and the market is still very price-sensitive. Sellers are agreeing to discounted sales also because the local semis market is showing signs of a bearish phase,” the sources said.
The downtrend in the local billet market has been sustained through the past week, with prices losing INR 400/mt ($5/mt) to INR 43,500/mt ($522/mt) ex-Mumbai and down INR 200/mt ($3/mt) to INR 41,650/mt ($500/mt) ex-Raipur in the central region.
$1 = INR 83.30