Local Indian cold rolled coil (
CRC) prices have moved down for the second consecutive week to INR 44,500/mt ($723/mt) ex-works as dealers have reduced their prices by INR 1,500/mt ($24/mt), while they are also offering volume discounts of INR 500/mt ($8/mt), amid higher stocks and anticipations of base price adjustments by steel mills, traders said on Thursday, January 15.
According to a Mumbai-based trader, sentiments in the market have been badly hit with
CRC prices currently at a 12-month low. Even the low price levels have not triggered any buying support since the market is expecting a further fall once local steel mills adjust their base prices given the persistent sluggish demand and high stocks at both mills and dealers.
The weakness in the
CRC market has been triggered by domestic steel mills, which have announced cuts in prices of long products, while the market expects similar price adjustments also for flat products before the end of the current month, the trader said.
On the evening of Wednesday, January 14, Steel Authority of
India Limited (SAIL), Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) and JSW Steel Limited announced cuts of INR 1,000-1,500/mt ($16-24/mt) in their long product prices.
Sources said that the price adjustments by the steel mills have come earlier than expected, indicating depressed demand and high inventories, adding that it is only a matter of time before the price adjustments by steel mills are extended to flat products.
$1 = INR 61.55