Here’s Why Suppliers Are Optimistic For FY24 Despite Indian Pig Iron Prices Facing Pressure

Pig iron prices have been under pressure due to a slowdown in Steel demand, leading to limited buying with Pig iron suppliers. Despite the prevailing pressure, suppliers in eastern India remain optimistic about the demand recovery post the beginning of the new fiscal year (FY24).

Reasons Behind Pig Iron Price Corrections

The major factors contributing to the Pig iron price corrections are:

• Sufficient supply by major Pig iron producers in the spot market.

• Price corrections in raw materials like coal and iron ore.

• Low export realizations led to a lack of confidence in rebounding pig prices.

Pig Iron Current Offers

• Steel-Grade Pig Iron- Currently, Steel-grade Pig iron offers through Durgapur-based mills remained stable at around Rs 40,000-40,300/ton ex-works in East India. However, in Raipur, the prices fell by Rs 500/ton against last week, with fresh offers at around Rs 40,200-40,400/ton.

• Foundry Grade Pig Iron- When it comes to Foundry Grade Pig iron prices, they have also decreased by Rs 700-800/ton, week-on-week, with current offers ranging from Rs 45,500-45,800/ton in Ludhiana and Rs 46,300-46,500/ton in Delhi, both on a delivered basis.

Future Prospect

There is hope among participants that with the beginning of the new fiscal year, the Steel demand may recover, and accordingly, the Pig iron market will react. Additionally, there are assumptions of an improvement in demand from the casting industry due to renewed auto contracts. Hence, there are chances that the Pig iron market may find support against the constant drop during Q4 of FY23.

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