Local Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have remained stable at around INR 40,000/mt ($643/mt) ex-works during the past week, but sentiments and volumes are still depressed, traders said on Wednesday, January 29.
Market sources said that traders have been forced to withdraw all discounts, resulting in a further fall in booking volumes which were in any case low owing to sluggish growth in the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors.
The sources said that most traders were unable to maintain discounts owing to high bank interest rates, which were expected to rise further after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased rates on Tuesday, January 28, in order to keep inflationary pressures under check.
However, despite low volumes, HRC prices have found support from reports that China is expected to reduce export shipments, which would result in lower import competition for domestic HRC, the sources added.