Ex-India billet reference prices have been maintained at $505-513/mt FOB, the same as last week, with mills’ targets closer to $515-520/mt FOB, but trade activity has lapsed into silence and sellers have been refraining from submitting offers amid the rebound in local merchant sales, SteelOrbis has learned from trade and industry circles.
Sources said that, even though a government-run mill floated a new tender for 90 mm billet, the market remained unenthused, expecting the highest bid to be closer to $500-505/mt FOB.
Indian mills were unwilling to get into a “pricing battle” with Asian mills to push sales overseas as local market conditions have been showing strong signs of a robust rebound.
“It may be noted that there is pessimism over the workable price as indicated by government mills which have reduced offer volumes significantly to almost half of normal offer volumes. Private mills are not in the export market at all at a time when competition is high again,” an official at a private mill said.
“There is sufficient domestic demand, and integrated and secondary mills are increasing long product outputs on higher captive use of billets. This even in a week with a number of festival holidays. The local market will further consolidate and there is no pressure to sell overseas,” he said.
In the local market, merchant billet prices have recorded a strong performance gaining INR 1,000/mt ($12/mt) to INR 47,000/mt ($564/mt) ex-Mumbai and up INR 1,250/mt ($15/mt) to INR 45,100/mt ($541/mt) ex-Raipur in the central region.
$1 = INR 83.30