Local Indian
pig iron prices have continued to soften for the second consecutive week, losing INR 100/mt ($1.6/mt) to around INR 17,100/mt ($270/mt) ex-works as bearish sentiment has gained momentum, traders said on Wednesday, December 24.
Market sources said that bearish sentiment is most pronounced in the central and northern Indian regions where demand for foundry grade
pig iron has slumped so badly that virtually no fresh bookings are reported.
Apart from low demand for foundry products, high energy costs have forced several small and medium-sized foundries to reduce capacity utilization to a bare minimum and, as a result, they are refraining from concluding any fresh bookings of
pig iron, the sources said.
No new export tenders have been reported in the market during the past week. The export tender for 40,000 metric tons of
pig iron floated in early December by government-owned trading house MMTC Limited on behalf of producer Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL), bids for which are expected to be opened later this week, the sources added.