Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have come under pressures of correction and declined by INR 500/mt ($7.50/mt) during the past week to INR 38,500/mt ($577/mt) ex-works as the activity of buyers has slackened sharply, traders said on Tuesday, April 26.
"There is no appetite for fresh buying among market participants as most are carrying high levels of inventories," a Mumbai-based trader said.
"At the same time, there is confusion in the market over the short-term price trend in the market, prompting dealers to reduce their activity," the trader added.
Some market sources state that local steel mills will marginally hike their CRC prices for May, while other market sources believe that prices will be maintained unchanged as inventories of mills and dealers are at high levels.
However, most in the market state that if local steel mills do push up their CRC prices, dealers will be forced to offer discounts of around INR 500/mt ($7.50/mt) in order to manage their inventories and maintain cash flows, sources said.
$1 = INR 66.74