Steel Weekly Brief — 3 May 2026

Week in Review (27 Apr – 3 May 2026)

• BigMint India Steel Composite Index dipped 0.9% w-o-w (assessment of 24 April carrying into the week) — the first weekly drop in over a month — as US–Iran ceasefire chatter eased freight/energy costs and pellet bids weakened at OMC auctions.
• HRC trade prices held near 28-month highs at ~₹64,000–64,500/t ex-Mumbai, but transactional volumes thinned. Mills indicated they will hold May list prices rather than pursue further hikes.
• Primary rebar steady at ₹61,000–61,500/t (Mumbai, IS 1786 Fe 550D); secondary IF rebar softened ₹200–500/t in Raipur and Mandi Gobindgarh on cautious construction sentiment.
• CRC eased ₹500–800/t off April peaks to ~₹67,500–68,200/t as coated-segment demand absorbed slower; GP/PPGI premiums sticky on continued gas-driven supply tightness.
• Stainless market under pressure — successive April hikes dampened buying; flats stayed sluggish, longs supported by tight supply.
• Iron ore softened — pellet bids weakened at OMC auction (PELLEX -₹200/t); imported scrap and manganese alloys also down on limited buying. NMDC list prices unchanged after the Apr 5 hike.
• Coking coal flat-to-firm at ~$227/t (Aus HCC), with no fresh shock from Middle East routes; freight insurance still elevated but stable w-o-w.
• Ex-India HRC export FOB stable to higher at $530–640/t — upper end up $20/t — but trade stalled by EU CBAM curbs and Middle East uncertainty.

Headline of the Week — India Crowned Net Steel Exporter for FY26

Provisional JPC data confirmed by Reuters (28 Apr) and Argus (23 Apr):

• Exports: 6.6 Mt (+35.9% YoY) — biggest buyers Italy, Vietnam, Belgium, UAE, Spain.
• Imports: 6.5 Mt (-31.7% YoY) — top sources South Korea, China, Japan, Vietnam, Russia.
• Crude steel output: 169.2 Mt (+11.2% YoY).
• Finished steel consumption: 164.2 Mt (+8% YoY).

Italy alone took 1.07 Mt (+51% YoY) as European buyers stockpiled ahead of CBAM tightening. The flip is structural — but Argus flags the FY27 outlook as uncertain given EU safeguard tightening and lingering geopolitical risk.

Manufacturer Watch — JSW JFE Steel Limited Goes Live

On 24 April, JSW Steel and Japan's JFE Steel Corporation formally established JSW JFE Steel Limited in Sambalpur, Odisha — a 50:50 JV crystallising 15 years of collaboration. Target: a 6 Mtpa integrated mill focused on premium and automotive-grade flats.

Parallel pipeline this week and last:

• JSW × POSCO 6 Mtpa JV (Odisha) — board-approved.
• Shyam Steel — $1.07 bn integrated mill in Maharashtra confirmed.
• JSW Steel FY26 — crude output 30.14 Mt (+8% YoY).
• SAIL FY26 — record 20.14 Mt sales (+11.5% YoY); ₹7,500 cr capex committed for FY27.

India's steel manufacturing map is densifying on both eastern (Odisha, Jharkhand, WB) and western (Maharashtra, Gujarat) corridors simultaneously.

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