Indian government-run steel producer Rasthtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) has floated multiple exporter tenders for various grades of billet, aggregating 150,000 mt, for shipment in the first half of August 2026.
The first two export tenders offer 30,000 mt of special chemistry grade blooms each, one for 150 mm size and the other one for 200 mm size. The last date for submission of bids for a minimum volume of 10,000 mt in each tender has been fixed for July 14 and July 15, respectively.
Another tender is for 30,000 mt of 200 mm 3SP/4SP blooms, while the biggest auction in terms of volume is the last one, opened last Friday, which offers 60,000 mt of prime concast billet of grades 3SP/4SP/4SP-M grades of 150 mm size, with the last date for submission of bids set for July 15, 2026, for a minimum bid volume of 30,000 mt.
Sources in trade circles and in the company said that the relatively large volumes on offer are an attempt to enter the market when prices are showing moderate stability even though the seller is still conservative in achieving significantly higher bids. Of course, these sources stated that special grade blooms held the potential of fetching a premium in the range of $15-20/mt.
They said that the seller had unofficially set a target of achieving successful bids at around $460/mt FOB for regular grades, but with the option of cancelling the tenders if bids were below the $450/mt FOB mark.
However, an official at a private mill, not engaged in selling overseas at present, said that the larger-than-usual export offers are also partially attributable to excess volumes of semis at most large mills, as both these mills and secondary producers have reduced conversion of semis to finished long products, since rebar prices remain on a sustained downtrend and the aggressive exports reflect inventory liquidation.
