Large Indian steel mills have announced new hot rolled coil (HRC) and cold rolled coil (CRC) base prices for July, showing sharp reductions in the range of INR 3,000-5,000/mt ($38-63/mt) from the previous month, SteelOrbis learned from industry officials on Tuesday, July 5.
The officials said that ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel Limited (AMNS) announced a revised HRC price for July at INR 61,000/mt ($772/mt) ex-warehouse, INR 4,000/mt ($51/mt) lower than the previous month and reduced its CRC price by INR 5,000/mt ($63/mt) to INR 68,000/mt ($861/mt) ex-warehouse.
State-run Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has announced its new July HRC price at INR 62,000/mt ($785/mt) ex-warehouse, down INR 3,000/mt ($38/mt) from the previous month, and its current CRC price is at INR 69,000/mt ($873/mt) ex-warehouse, a reduction of INR 4,000/mt ($51/mt).
Jindal Steel and Power Limited’s (JSPL) has revised HRC and CRC prices by INR 3000/mt ($38/mt) to INR 61,000/mt ($772/mt) and INR 67,000/mt ($848/mt) ex-warehouse, respectively.
JSW Steel Limited has announced its new HRC price at INR 61,000/mt ($772/mt) ex-warehouse, after a reduction of INR 4,350/mt ($55/mt), and its CRC price at INR 68,000/mt ($861/mt) ex-warehouse, after a cut of INR 4,850/mt ($61/mt).
“The deep cuts announced by domestic steel mills for flat steel products are a clear reflection of the impact of the recently imposed 15 percent export tax. This has resulted in a sharp increase in inventories at mills amid continued slow movement of stocks in the domestic market,” a steel sector analyst with a financial services company said.
“Expectations that lower prices will act as a stimulus for demand, as espoused by some, are not realistic. Margins of steel mills see a lot of erosion as producers will not have much headroom to push higher volumes at lower prices amid stagflationary macro-economic conditions,” the analyst said.
Following the base price reductions, the gap between base prices from mills and trade prices has narrowed greatly. As SteelOrbis reported on Monday, July 4, the current trade prices for HRC are in the range of NR 60,100-61,000/mt ($761-772/mt) ex-warehouse.
