Indian steel mills have begun reducing base prices for flat steel products for August deliveries, SteelOrbis learned from companies on Tuesday, August 2.
ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel has announced base prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) for August deliveries at INR 58,100/mt ($735/mt) ex-works and its effective base price for cold rolled coil (CRC) at INR 66,500/mt ($842/mt) ex-works.
Another major mill, JSW Steel Limited, has cut the base price of HRC for current month deliveries to INR 58,350/mt ($739/mt) ex-works, with its CRC price at INR 65,350/mt ($827/mt) ex-works.
For both steelmakers, July base prices were at INR 61,000/mt ($772/mt) for HRC and INR 68,000/mt ($861/mt) for CRC. This means that the HRC price decline is INR 2,650-2,900/mt ($33-37/mt) from the previous month, while the CRC price decline amounts to INR 1,500-2,650/mt ($19-33/mt).
Industry sources said that other steel mills are also likely to announce similar reductions in base prices over the current week responding to sluggish domestic demand, lower sales opportunities overseas, and resultant inventory increases.
The trade prices for HRC are similar or just slightly below the new base prices in the local Indian market, while CRC trade prices are higher than the levels announced by mills for August, at least as reported on Monday, August 1.
