Local Indian pig iron prices finally soften after long-standing uptrend

Wednesday, 24 January 2018 16:22:06 (GMT+3)   |   Kolkata
       

After eight consecutive weeks of upward movement, local Indian pig iron prices have come under downward pressure, decreasing by INR 200/mt week on week to INR 26,400/mt ($414/mt) ex-works, with downstream users losing appetite for fresh bookings at higher levels and given uncertainties over billet prices, traders said on Wednesday, January, 24.

“The upward movement of pig iron prices had been slowing in the recent few weeks, finally being replaced by a downtrend during the past week, with buyers feeling the pinch of prices moving up too fast in too short a time,” a Kolkata-based trader said.

“Buyers in the foundry industry are seen to be staying away from making fresh bookings as they are unable to pass on higher raw material costs to buyers of castings and forging products,” the trader added.

Sources said that high volatility in billet prices has also impacted the pig iron market, with a number of large producers who had been keeping aside pig iron volumes for captive conversion now seen to be pushing pig iron volumes for commercial sale and this situation increases supply-side pressures on prices.

The sources said that local billet prices are showing divergent trends across the markets in India, with prices stable in the western region around Maharashtra but slumping in other regions in the east and the central region

At INR 33,000/mt ($517/mt) ex-works, in eastern and central region markets, prices had moved down by around INR 800/mt since early this month, triggering negative sentiment in the pig iron market, the sources said.

At the same time, no new export tenders have been reported during the past week from any of the large pig iron producers despite much anticipation earlier of export prices moving above the $400/mt FOB mark, and this has partially attributed to the reversal of the trend of the pig iron market, the sources added.

$1 = INR 63.67

 


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