Prices in the local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) market have increased by INR 1,500/mt ($22/mt) over the past week to INR 49,500/mt ($729/mt) ex-works, ahead of an anticipated hefty base price revision by steel mills, traders said on Tuesday, January 3.
“It is just a matter of a few more days before local steel mills commence one of the highest price revisions across steel products. And it is also just a matter of time before local CRC prices hit the INR 50,000/mt ($736/mt) mark,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“Dealers are rushing to mark up their prices and are also restocking ahead of official announcements by the steel mills. Of course, whether the current demand situation and the market will be able to absorb such hefty price revisions is still up for debate,” the trader added.
However, at least two traders said that CRC consumers are ready to cope with higher steel input prices, pointing to the fact most auto manufacturers have already announced that automobile prices across various ranges will be hiked effective from this current month.
Since end-users have decided to pass on higher steel prices to their consumers, market resistance to higher flat steel products prices will be very limited, the two traders added.
$1 = INR 68.13