Ingot and billet prices continued to rise on Thursday as input costs soared. Billet prices have gone up by Rs2,200/mt ($30/mt) in the last four days in Central India. Large mills kept rebar prices unchanged for June.
The daily Davis Index for billet in Raipur, Thursday, increased by Rs600/mt ($8/mt) to settle at Rs43,200/mt ($593/mt) amid rise in sponge iron prices and limited supply.
Market participants said that rebar demand was healthy on Wednesday but it lost steam on Thursday. Steel mills attributed the sharp rise in ingot and billet prices to surge in iron ore prices.
Offers for pellet sponge were further up by Rs300/mt at Rs31,000/mt ex-works. The daily index for rebar rose Rs700/mt to Rs47,000/mt ex-works Raipur.
Meanwhile, Indian steelmaker Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) has kept long steel product prices unchanged for June deliveries. Other prominent steel players are likely to follow suit.
In Mumbai, the index for billet rose by Rs700/mt to Rs43,000/mt following rise in imported scrap prices while rebar remained flat at Rs48,200/mt ex-works despite moderate demand.
In Mandi Gobindgarh, the daily index for ingot increased by Rs700/mt to Rs46,200/mt ex-works, in line with the rise in local scrap prices.
($1= Rs72.9)