IF steel market was stagnant on November 26, 2025. Weak buying interest attributed to lower prices on sponge iron, billets, and rebars. Mills only purchased enough sponge iron to meet their needs due to the abundance of sponge iron from local sources; as a result, sponge iron prices decreased due to limited purchases from mill buyers. In addition to pressure from limited finished steel demand, billet prices were also pressured due to cautious purchasing by secondary manufacturers. The same can be said for the price of rebar (Fe 500), since prices on billets and slow construction sector operations affected rebar prices. The price levels in Raipur were determined by weak trade activity in Raipur, too-high offer prices from certain areas, and reels continuing to be run on low commitments to their raw material inventories.

Outlook:

Raipur's steel market will likely remain stable to slightly up over the near term. If any increases to price levels do happen over the near term, they will likely occur as a result of the demand created by tightening regional scrap inventories and limited production from IF mills. Overall demand for finished steel continues to be very slow; therefore, even though the mills throughout Raipur continue to exercise strong control over how much steel they produce for sale and at what price points to sell those products, the overall marketplace will not see significant fare ups or fare downs in price points. Therefore, the long-term trend in Raipur would likely continue to display a stable to somewhat positive trend unless downstream activity and/or marketplace activity across the balance of central India improves.