HRC social inventories decline 2% on week

[India Domestic] Domestic steel and scrap prices were mostly flat on a day-to-day basis. Some finished steel products saw modest gains and market sentiment remained cautiously positive with some improvement in finished-steel demand. PDRI sponge iron unchanged at 304.02USD/tonne (28,800INR/tonne) EXW Raipur. Rebar up by 1.05USD/tonne (100INR/tonne) to 530.97USD/tonne (50,300INR/tonne) EXW Mumbai. Raipur billet up by 2.11USD/tonne (200INR/tonne) to 445.47USD/tonne (42,200INR/tonne) EXW Raipur. Mandi Billet unchanged at 489.80USD/tonne (46,400INR/tonne) delivered Mandi. Ingot flat at 489.80USD/tonne (46,400INR/tonne) EXW Mandi. HMS 1&2 (80:20) flat at 399USD/tonne (37,800INR/tonne) delivered Mandi. Mumbai HMS 1&2 (80:20) flat at 377.89USD/tonne (35,800INR/tonne) delivered Mumbai. Buying remained largely requirement-based, while mills continued to monitor raw-material availability and procurement costs.

[SMM Aluminum Alloy Daily Review] Today, ADC12 market quotations remained generally stable to slightly firmer. Supported by higher aluminum prices and rising raw material costs, some producers raised their offers by RMB 100/mt. However, as the recovery in end-user demand remains relatively limited, some producers opted to keep their prices unchanged and adopt a wait-and-see approach, with overall pricing adjustments remaining cautious.

India’s Crude steel production increased 1.8% YoY to 70.3 million tonnes (Mt) in April-August 2026. Meanwhile finished steel production grew by 3.8% YoY to 68.1 million tonnes (Mt). Finished steel imports rose by 29.5% YoY to 3.48 million tonnes (Mt), while exports increased 34.1% YoY to 2.98 million tonnes (Mt). The stronger 7.0% YoY growth in finished steel consumption to 70.3 million tonnes (Mt) in April-August. Finished steel trade showed healthy growth during the first five months of fiscal year 2026-27 with both imports and exports increasing year on year. In August, India’s crude steel production remained broadly stable, edging down 0.1% YoY to 14.1 million tonnes (Mt). Finished steel production slightly up by 0.3% YoY to 13.5 million tonnes (Mt), finished steel consumption to 14.3 million tonnes (Mt) in August, up by 4% YoY. Higher imports could increase competition in the domestic market and limit price upside, while stronger exports could support mills. Overall, the market outlook remains positive supported by healthy domestic demand, although import trends and production growth will remain key factors to watch. During April-August, the top 7 steel producers (SAIL, RINL, NSL, TSL Group, AM/NS, JSL/JSPL and JSW Group) made 39.2 Mt out of total crude steel production of 70.3 Mt. Their share in hot metal production was much higher, at 37.2 Mt. Large producers are mainly BF-based, while many of the remaining producers rely more on EAF/IF-based steelmaking.