Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have remained relatively stable over the past week and have showed little reaction to the base price hikes announced by some large mills.
Sources said that benchmark 0.9 mm CRC prices are stable at INR 53,500-56,000/mt ($612-640/mt), though up by INR 200 ($2.2/mt) on the lower end of the range over the past week. At the same time, according to sources, most of the bookings received in trade have been reported at the lower end of the range on a par with the higher base prices of some mills and even at a slight discount to the list prices of some other producers.
“Any upside potential from mills hiking base prices has been checked by surplus inventories at re-rollers following off-take defaults by customers on long-term contracts. Re-rollers are attempting to clear such stocks at discounts,” a Mumbai-based distributor told SteelOrbis.
“Demand from the automobile industry is also muted after most passenger car makers with medium and smaller market shares posted poor sales growth in January and are expected to remain cautious in restocking raw materials,” he added.
However, a section of market insiders said that any further downside in CRC prices would be limited by reports that ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel Limited has shut down its Corex-2 plant, while JSW Vijayanagar's HSM2 is undergoing major maintenance, which could have some impact in tightening of overall flat product supplies.
$1 = INR 87.50
