Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have made modest gains amid trade channel restocking and slightly improved bookings reported by re-rolling mills.
Specifically, bench mark 0.9 mm CRC prices are up INR 300/mt ($4/mt) to INR 59,400/mt ($723/mt) ex-Mumbai and are up INR 200/mt ($2/mt) to INR 58,200/mt ($709/mt) ex-Chennai in the south.
According to sources, southern India-based South Korean car makers resumed bookings from re-rolling mills, boosting sentiments in the market slightly, while trade channels also resumed restocking, anticipating August base price hikes by large integrated mills.
“Auto companies are readying to increase plant output ahead of the expected festival sales spike from September onwards and increasing bookings with rerollers,” a Mumbai-based distributor said.
“Producers, or at least private mills, are expected to increase August base prices by at least INR 1,000/mt ($12/mt) as per market indications, triggering trade level restocking,” he added.
At least two officials at private mills confirmed that their mills have increased captive capacities of re-rolling mills to boost volume outputs of value-added products like CRC and to attempt to compensate for current lower sales margins of hot rolled coil (HRC). They said that July-August export allocations for HRC will be “conservative considering slow sales in Europe’ and corresponding increases are being made for captive conversion to value-added products”.
Integrated mills have been lowering export allocations for the July-September quarter by 15-20 percent and correspondingly increasing output of captive re-rolling mills, the officials said.
$1 = INR 82.10