Indian steel mills will likely lower their cold rolled coil (CRC) prices for the domestic market by INR 3,000/mt ($67/mt) in early April, as predicted by market insiders.
Indian traders have lately booked cold rolled coil materials at INR 44,500-45,000/mt ($996-1,007/mt) from China and Russia, down from INR 48,500-49,000/mt ($1,085-1,096/mt) last month. Meanwhile, the listed prices of Indian CRC producers are now at around INR 49,000-50,000/mt ($1,096-1,119/mt) in the local market. However, most deals are transacted at negotiated prices. Market insiders now think that the local mills will cut their CRC offers by INR 3,000/mt ($67/mt). Even so, their offers would still be INR 1,000/mt ($22/mt) higher than import offers.
Although the Indian auto sector has been registering double-digit growth, CRC prices in the local market have trended down under the influence of international steel prices and strong competition from massive import inflows from China and Russia.