On January 5, 2026, the prices of steel produced in India's induction furnaces fell due to a lack of confidence among consumers about their purchases across nearly all parts of the country. Sponge iron decreased by ₹200 - 600 per tonne from yesterday, with the largest fall of ₹600 per tonne occurring in Raigarh at ₹23,800 per tonne, while Chennai is experiencing a small increase, up by ₹100 per tonne to ₹27,400 per tonne. The price of billets dropped between ₹150-1300 per tonne, with Hyderabad experiencing the largest decline of ₹1,300 per tonne, down to ₹41,000 per tonne. Once again, Chennai Prasadam has defied this trend by increasing its price by ₹500 to reach ₹42,000 per tonne. The prices of rebar (Fe 500 grade) have also decreased between ₹400 - 1,000 per tonne, with Raigarh showing the largest distinction, decreasing by ₹1,000 to reach a price of ₹43,500 per tonne.

Outlook

The reductions we are currently seeing in purchasing activity are because purchasers have limited their new purchases due to already having built up enough inventory over the past fortnight, when they were very aggressive in their procurement activities. As well, the decreasing demand for building products across many of the major markets is putting additional pressure on prices to drop. However, as previously stated, Chennai is continuing to have steady buying interest and continuing support of prices in that particular area. In the near term, we expect that market sentiment will remain cautious and that prices may drop even further unless we see new buyers or demands coming into the market.