Downward pressures have persisted in the local Indian pig iron market with prices edging down by INR 500/mt week on week to INR 28,000/mt ($431/mt) ex-works amid scarce trading activity and expectations of an easing in the coming weeks of the tight supply situation, traders said on Wednesday, March 4.
“Trading volumes have been declining steadily since pig iron prices hit a six-year high last month, indicating that end-users are unwilling to carry high-priced inventories and with dealers thus reducing fresh bookings,” a Kolkata-based trader said.
According to two other traders, the tight supplies which had led to a surge in domestic pig iron prices is expected to start easing in the coming weeks with Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited, a large pig iron producer, reporting the re-firing of its blast furnace after a maintenance shutdown and expected to commence commercial sale of the semi-finished steel product in the next weeks.
The fact that none of the large producers have reported any export tenders within the last few months, coupled with higher flow of volumes into the market from producers, will temper prices in the short term, the traders added.
Sources said that dealers are also reducing bookings as there is no indication of a revision in producers’ base prices for the current month, as yet.
$1 = INR 65.02