Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have entered a new downtrend cycle, triggered by a pause in restocking by major consumers such as automobile manufacturers, and reports of sporadic discounted sales, which are impacting overall trade sentiment.
Sources said that benchmark 0.9 mm CRC price was down INR 600/mt ($7/mt) at range of INR 59,400-60,400/mt ($694-705/mt) with higher end of range applicable for deliveries ex-Chennai in the south.
At least two traders said that they had heard of smaller-volume deals by a western region-based re-roller at a discounted price of around INR 57,500/mt ($672/mt), net of discount, but this was not confirmed by others in trade circles.
According to sources, large automobile manufacturers have paused restocking of raw materials due to being almost fully stocked, and in anticipation of lean sales months from June onwards due to the onset of monsoon rains.
'Mills increased the base price for deliveries in the current month. This is proving counterproductive as it comes ahead of the monsoon months, which normally see declining demand and manufacturing activity. Stock movement and volumes are falling,' said a Mumbai-based distributor.
'Discounted sales are only rumoured at the moment. If the market slowdown persists through this month, there is a distinct possibility that it will emerge as a trend,” he added.
$1= INR 85.56