Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have declined amid aggressive stock liquidation at discounts and users being cautious about building inventories at the year-end.
Sources said that 0.9 mm benchmark CRC prices have decreased by INR 500/mt ($6/mt) to INR 61,200/mt ($738/mt) ex-Mumbai and have lost INR 300/mt ($4/mt) to INR 62,150/mt ($750/mt) ex-Chennai in the south.
However, according to trade circles, re-rollers have been offering material at discounted prices in the range of INR 59,000/mt ($712/mt) in the western regional market, to liquidate stocks ahead of closing books for the current fiscal year.
“Sales growth in user industries is slowing down, forcing companies to be extremely cautious in booking raw materials. There are uncertainties in the automobile industry as sales are slowing down following increases in prices. Many manufacturers are rationalizing output and hence are cutting back on raw material bookings. Re-rollers are facing the worst brunt of this slowdown,” a Mumbai-based distributor said.
“We expect prices to remain under pressure as there is too much volume available in the market at a time when the demand depression is being aggravated. We are keeping a close watch on the March base pricing strategy of the mills, indications of which should become clearer over the next one week,” he said.
$1 = INR 82.90