Domestic ferrous scrap prices declined in India amid low demand for finished steel. Primary steelmakers reduced rebar, flat steel, and structural product price by Rs1,200-2,000/mt ($16.1/mt-$26.8/mt), depending on the product and market to liquidate piled up inventories.
Mills in Mumbai have cut production by 20-25pc to minimize and refrained from stocking raw material. Ferrous scrap suppliers reduced their offers to attract the bidders, and the daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) declined by Rs300/mt to Rs31,500/mt del Mumbai mills. The index for sponge iron settled flat at Rs29,100/mt delivered mills.
The bi-weekly index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) declined by Rs2,000/mt from last Thursday to Rs31,000/mt del Jalna mills, and the index for sponge iron fell by Rs300/mt to Rs31400/mt delivered mills.
Mills in the North bought ferrous scrap only to meet their daily melt requirements as demand from end-users for steel is low. The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) declined by Rs300/mt to Rs34100/mt del Mandi Gobindgarh, and the index for sponge iron declined by Rs100/mt to Rs32,400/mt delivered mills.
Low demand and a tight supply of raw material kept prices for HMS flat in Goa and Chennai, and the bi-weekly index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled unchanged at Rs31,550/mt del Goa and Rs33,000/mt del Chennai mills.
Market participants expect a drop in ferrous scrap prices in the near term amid the ongoing monsoon and rising fear of a third wave of COVID-19 pandemic sending the country into a lockdown.
($1=74.52)