After surging steadily, prices in the local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) market have taken a break from their rising trend during the past week, remaining stable at INR 45,000/mt ($673/mt) ex-works, due to comfortable inventory levels at dealers and amid holiday considerations, traders said on Tuesday, October 18.
“With one round of holidays just over last week and another spate of holidays across the country at the end of this month, dealers’ stocks are at comfortable levels and so they are in no hurry to make fresh bookings,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“But despite the relative fall in trade volumes, prices have remained firm amid the positive outlook. Expectations that local steel mills will increase their flat product prices before the festival of lights at the end of this month also provide support for market prices,” the trader added.
Market sources said that domestic steel mills are considering increasing their prices across the board in view of rising coking coal prices and tight supply of the raw material.
According to market sources, flat steel prices are expected to increase by INR 500-1,000/mt ($7-14/mt) and the market is expected to absorb this rise and not to show any resistance due to the low inventories at Indian mills.
The sources point out that many traders have had to decrease their purchase volumes as the larger steel mills are unable to deliver due to their low inventories.
$1 = INR 66.69