Indian integrated steel mills have increased their base prices of flat and long products, with the size of the increase surpassing even the highest market expectations, SteelOrbis has learned from industry circles on Wednesday, April 7.
The integrated steel mills have increased base prices of hot rolled coil (HRC) by INR 4,500-5,000/mt ($61-68/mt), taking the average base price to the range of INR 58,000-60,000/mt ($790-817/mt) ex-works.
The price increase expected in the market for April had been more conservative at around INR 3,000/mt ($40/mt), but Indian producers have decided to push prices up even higher, taking into account the sharp rises in the international markets and the surging realizations of mills in the export markets. Traders said that the base price hikes by the mills have already started to be reflected in tradable prices.
“HRC prices are above $1,000/mt in Europe, $900/mt in West Asia and $870/mt in China. The difference between the average global price and the Indian HRC price is still INR 11,000/mt [$150/mt],” Ranjan Dhar, chief marketing officer from ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel Limited (AMNS), said.
The largest steel mills have also hiked base prices for long steel products. In particular, they have announced an increase of INR 3,000/mt ($40/mt) in base price for rebar to INR 51,500/mt ($702/mt) ex-works on average.