Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) traded prices have lost ground in reaction to base price reductions by steel mills and lower expectations of sustained bookings from key consuming industries going forward, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Monday, December 6.
The 0.90 mm benchmark CRC traded price is down by more than INR 2,000/mt ($27/mt) to INR 72,500-73,000/mt ($967-973/mt) ex-Mumbai, from INR 74,400-75,400/mt ($992-1,005/mt) ex-Mumbai a week ago.
This is against mills’ revised base prices which now stand at around INR 74,000-74,500/mt ($987-993) ex-works following the reduction announced since late last week, sources said.
“Traded prices can be expected to remain at a discount to base prices in the near term as dealers have sufficient stocks and bookings from key sectors like automobiles are below expectations,” a Mumbai-based distributor said.
“Passenger car makers are increasing output, but not at the pace expected and raw material bookings remain on the lower side. Standalone mills are deferring deliveries at the request of end users, resulting in a rise in mills’ inventories. Hence, the base price reduction by producers will have a very limited impact on increasing movements of stocks from mills to the market,” he said.
“We expect Indian prices to correct by another five percent from the current levels over the next two months. In the near term, pressures on prices from imports will be kept in check by the current long delivery time being sought by sellers in China and South Korea. But with port congestion easing, it is only a matter of time before inward shipment volumes will increase and declining international prices will put bigger pressure on the local market too,” he said.
$1 = INR 75.00