Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have remained unchanged for the fifth consecutive week at INR 45,500/mt ($702/mt) ex-works amid negligible trading and a lack of any buying interest, traders said on Tuesday, July 7.
“The CRC market is in a prolonged state of the doldrums. There is just no interest among dealers in concluding any kind of transaction,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“Reports of manufacturing activity hitting a four-month low in July preclude any uptick in demand and hence the movement of CRC is expected to slow down further, resulting in the market coming to a near standstill,” the trader said.
“Most dealers are also lagging behind in implementing new tax filing system under the new Goods and Service Tax. The impact of the new indirect tax system on steel mills’ pricing and overall demand remains very uncertain, causing market participants to stay on the sidelines,” the trader added.
At least two other traders said that traders do not even have the option of pushing volumes at a discount to manage inventories and most have yet to gauge the impact of the new indirect tax on final invoice price.
Sources said that unlike earlier months there has been no indication in the market on possible pricing of CRC by Indian steel mills for current month deliveries and no dealer is willing to risk fresh transactions under such conditions.
$1 = INR 64.79