Improvement in the export market and increase in number of deals with overseas buyers have provided fresh support to Indian billet suppliers.
The sources said that ex-India billet offers have marginally increased to $375-380/mt FOB, while it have been not higher than $375/mt FOB last week. Suppliers are insisting on some increase following revived buying interest from markets like China and Southeast Asia.
An estimated aggregated volume of 60,000-70,000 mt of billet ex-India was sold during the past week by large domestic exporting steel mills. Sources said that a deal was concluded by Jindal Steel and Power Limited for export of billet at around $400/mt CFR China (equivalent to $375/mt FOB or just slightly lower).
“Revival in India’s export shipments is a positive. Local prices will largely be governed by sustainability of overseas billet shipments because merchant booking by local re-rollers continued to remain depressed in view of prolonged lack of demand for rebar,” an official with eastern region based integrated steel mill said.
Indian local billet (grade IS2831- 100mm x 100mm) prices have moved up by INR 500/mt ($7/mt) during the past week to INR 28,500/mt ($399/mt) ex-works, supported by revived export deals and producers factoring in increase in pig iron prices, traders said on Wednesday, October 16.
The traders said that following the rises in pig iron prices which was about INR 400/mt ($5.5/mt) during the past week to INR 22,500/mt ($315/mt) ex-works, integrated steel mills were factoring in higher price of pig iron into pricing of their downstream value added billet production.
$1 = INR 71.43