Large Indian integrated mills, led by ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel Limited (AMNS), have started effecting their second base price increases for flat products for current month deliveries, SteelOrbis learned from company and trade sources on Tuesday, January 17.
The sources said that AMNS has increased flat product prices by INR 1,000/mt ($12/mt), taking the effective base price for hot rolled coil (HRC) to INR 56,750/mt ($689/mt) ex-works and that for cold rolled coil (CRC) to INR 63,500/mt ($771/mt) ex-works.
The sources said that government-run Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is also expected to announce a similar price increase over the course of the next few days. It may be noted that the steel producer had taken the lead in announcing higher flat product prices as early as late December, but the hike of INR 500/mt ($6/mt) was lower than market expectations.
Over the past week, the trade price of HRC has moved up at a premium over mills’ base prices, offering producers a window to go in for a second price revision in January. Higher export allocation, improved price realizations in key overseas markets, the return of buyers from the EU and the resultant tightening of supplies in the local market would support the latest round of price hikes, an official at a private mill said.
As SteelOrbis reported earlier this month, the first base price hike by most Indian mills was by INR 1,500-2,000/mt for HRC and by INR 500-1,250/mt for CRC.
$1 = INR 82.40
