Domestic HMS prices in Mandi Gobindgarh and Mumbai markets trended flat to up on Wednesday. Prices in the past two weeks have been holding firm amid a recovery in finished steel prices and a gradual rise in end-user demand.
As the country goes into a ‘begin-again’ phase, most business activities have started to resume. In the Mumbai market, the daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled unchanged at Rs22,500/mt ($300.55/mt) delivered mill and the index for sponge iron settled at Rs19,050/mt ($254.44) delivered mill, up by Rs500/mt.
Iron ore prices in the international market as well as in the domestic continue to be bullish. These prices thus had a bearing on sponge iron prices. The rise in sponge iron prices is a seasonal phenomenon, with iron extraction remaining hampered in the monsoon months. Supporting the price rise is also a shortage of material.
In the Mandi Gobindgarh market, the index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at Rs21,600/mt delivered mill, up by Rs300/mt and the index for sponge iron trended up by Rs100/mt to Rs20,000/mt del mill.
With laborers slowly returning to work, most stalled projects have resumed. In the coming few days, the market is expected to stay strong, opine steelmakers.
($1=Rs74.86)