Local Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have moved down by INR 200-300/mt ($3-4/mt) during the past week to around INR 33,800/mt ($532/mt) ex-works amid renewed pressures from imports and easing of restocking by dealers, traders said on Monday, May 25.
According to a Mumbai-based trader, with local steel mills keeping their base prices unchanged for June, most dealers have restricted their restocking at higher price levels to avoid large inventory build-ups.
The trader said that most dealers do not expect any significant uptick in HRC demand and so the pace of fresh bookings has dropped significantly during the past week.
Market sources said that a large number of HRC importers who had been staying away from concluding import transactions until recently are once again showing interest in view of the steady fall in offer levels.
The sources cited the example of ex-China HRC offers which have been lowered by $5/mt for the second consecutive week and are currently in the range of $480-485/mt CFR Mumbai. At the same time, ex-South Korea HRC offers have been reduced by $5-10/mt and are currently in the range of around $420-430/mt CFR Mumbai for shipments in late June and early July.
With the volatility in the currency market stabilizing with the intervention of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), import transactions are seen to be increasing, the sources added.
$1 = INR 63.55