Posted on 14 Jan 2021
SteelMint Alert : Billet - 13 Jan 2021
Export prices of Indian billet rose again, at the end of the last week, in a tender hosted by an Indian state-owned mill floated for 30,000 t billets (150*150mm, 3SP/4SP grade). According to SteelMint sources, the company managed to achieve a price level of $575-580/t, FoB India, up by $38-40 against a previous tender concluded in mid-Dec ‘20.
With this, the Indian billet export prices are now at a seven-year high. Strong domestic demand and high raw material prices (export and domestic both) are strongly supporting this surge.
Meanwhile, Indian mills have announced a second price hike in domestic prices for the month of Jan’21 citing a demand-supply mismatch.
Indian mills are enjoying healthy margins in the domestic market despite a rise in conversion cost.
SteelMint’s bi-weekly assessment for Indian billets (150*150mm, BF route, FoB east coast) is $575-580/t, up by $10-12 against last week.
Outlook: Trade sources indicated limited buying interest for CIS billets, as offers have reached $620/t, FoB levels. Due to disparity between bids and offers, CIS origin billet export trades have slowed down. In addition to it, market sentiments in the Turkish imported scrap market have also softened slightly. These factors may halt price hikes in the global billet market.
Source:SteelMint
