Local Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have continued their upward movement for the second consecutive week, increasing by INR 500/mt week on week to INR 41,500/mt ($643/mt) ex-works, as local steel mills have commenced hiking their base prices, traders said on Monday, April 10.
"Steel mills, as expected, have started upward revisions of all flat steel base prices, raising them by around INR 500-1,000/mt. While large mills have already made official announcements of price revisions for April deliveries, others are expected to follow suit over the current week," a Mumbai-based trader said.
"The size of the base price hikes has been in line with market expectations. There is a lot of talk in the market that some large mills may consider a second price hike of another INR 1,000/mt ($16/mt) during the current month, triggering a rush among dealers to restock," the trader added.
Several market sources said that expectations of a demand revival triggered by higher government spending have resulted in healthy transaction volumes during the past week and the higher volumes indicate that the latest round of price hikes has been absorbed by market participants and end-users.
$1 = INR 64.56