Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have continued to seek lower levels with large industrial users reducing bookings amid the bearish outlook on sales growth and the rising inventories held by steel distributors and rerollers.
Sources said that benchmark 0.9 mm CRC prices have lost INR 200/mt ($2/mt ) to INR 61,700/mt ($742/mt) ex-Mumbai and are down INR 500/mt ($6/mt) to INR 62,450/mt ($752/mt) ex-Chennai in the south.
They said that, while large industrial users were virtually out of the market and not committing to either making fresh bookings nor to lifting material from rerollers against current long-term supply agreements.
“Large industrials in automobile and consumer durable manufacturing have all completed price increases of their products in January. This will trigger a slowdown in sales growth of these manufacturers and the latter are all seen to be reducing raw material bookings. This is aggravating the usual overall slowdown seen during the last quarter of the fiscal year,” a Mumbai-based distributor told SteelOrbis.
“The trade price has somewhat lost its relevance as most volumes are currently being traded at a discount. Offer prices are in the range of INR 59,000-60,000/mt ($710-722/mt) depending on the volumes booked. The transaction price is heard to be even lower in the case of some western state-based rerollers,” he added.
$1 = INR 83.10
