India: Sponge iron prices drop further on weakening spot demand - 11 Sep

Indian sponge iron prices edged down further today, by INR 50-500/t, in major locations. With this, prices have dropped for the third consecutive day. Sponge iron prices fell due to the downtrend in the semi-finished and finished long steel segments which led to a weakened demand on a daily basis. As a result, buyers made only need-based bookings. Owing to weak market sentiments, modest trading activity and a slight increase in volumes were reported d-o-d.

Transactions for around 6,700 t of sponge iron were recorded on Monday, against 3,050 t recorded on 9 September.

Spot purchasing uncertainty, combined with fluctuating steel prices, contributed to a reduction in sponge iron prices, leaving market participants hopeful of price stability.

Rationale –

Prices have been derived based on transactions, offers, bids and indicative price data sets. Transactions are considered as T1 and given a weightage of 50% whereas other data sets are considered as T2 and given a weightage of the balance 50%.

Click for detailed methodology