After six consecutive weeks of downward movement, local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have remained stable during the past week at INR 41,800/mt ($546/mt) ex-works but current prices are irrelevant considering that fresh bookings received by all domestic producers are reported to be nil and given the continued negative outlook from major consuming industries like automobile, SteelOrbis has been informed on Monday, April 27.
According to traders, current CRC prices are nothing but just a quotation as no volume is traded in the market nor have large integrated steel mills reported bookings over the past week, reflecting “all-time dismal market conditions.”
Reports in the market from the automobile industry indicate that not a single passenger car or commercial vehicle has been sold over the past 30 days by dealers and not a single vehicle has been dispatched from the plants of manufacturers, sources said.
In fact, the unprecedented situation of zero sales or dispatches over the past 30 days precludes all possibilities of the auto sector resuming any kind of raw material (CRC) bookings even after the possible phasing down of lockdown restrictions from May 3, the sources said.
Sources said that most integrated steel mills have completely stopped rolling mill conversion to CRC for the past several weeks and even existing inventories have completely stopped moving and steel mills are having to just incur carrying costs, as even deep discounting has not attracted even small-volume bookings over the past week.
$1 = INR 76.50
