The daily Davis Index for billet in Mumbai fell by Rs100/mt ($1.36/mt) to settle at Rs32,000/mt ($435.86/mt) ex-works with sellers feeling the heat as no deals were reported on Thursday. Few steel mill operators in Mumbai shared that they expect prices to come under pressure for the rest of this week as rebar bookings were almost nil on Thursday. The index for rebar remained flat at Rs35,500/mt ($484.31/mt) ex-works Mumbai.
In Raipur, the daily index for billet fell by Rs133/mt and settled at Rs30,400/mt ex-works with very few takers at index prices. Sponge iron prices are at Rs19,800-19,900/mt while the index for rebar fell by Rs100/mt at Rs33,200/mt ex-works Raipur. A few rebar mill owners in Raipur reported demand to be sluggish at higher prices, with market uncertainty looming large.
In Mandi Gobindgarh, the daily index for ingot dropped by Rs300/mt to Rs33,150/mt on a similar dip in scrap prices while the index for rebar remained flat at Rs37,800/mt ex-works with limited trade. In Mandi, most of the traders are facing transportation issues due to scarcity of trucks.
In Durgapur, the bi-weekly index for rebar dropped by Rs250/mt ($3.40/mt) to Rs32,125mt ($437.57/mt) ex-works on Tuesday amid sluggish demand. A few deals were reported at the index price. The demand is unlikely to revive by the end of 2020, cited manufacturers. The index for billet increased by Rs125/mt ($1.70/mt) to Rs30,625/mt ($416.04/mt) ex-works Durgapur.
In Chennai, the bi-weekly Davis Index for rebar rose by Rs500 ($6.80/mt) to Rs 35,500/mt ($483.4/mt) with a few deals being reported at the index price. The index for billet remained unchanged at Rs31,500/mt ($428.9/mt).
In Jalna, the bi-weekly index for billet remained flat at Rs31,300/mt ex-works. Billet offers increased marginally on Thursday but buyers preferred to away. The index for rebar was flat at Rs34,800/mt ex-works on slow demand due to heavy rain in most parts of Maharashtra.
In Gujarat, the bi-weekly index for billet was up by Rs400/mt to Rs32,000/mt ex-works in line with rise in rebar prices. The bi-weekly index for rebar also increased by Rs300/mt Rs35,100/mt ex-works. A rebar mill operator said that rebar demand was good on Wednesday due to low prices but it cooled-off on Thursday.
In Ludhiana, the bi-weekly index for ingot fell by Rs100/mt at Rs 33,700/mt ex-works.
($1=Rs73.4313)