Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have remained largely stable over the past week, although a slight softening has been reported at the higher end of the range in reaction to continued stock liquidation by re-rollers.
Sources said that the benchmark 0.9 mm CRC price is stable in the range of INR 53,500-55,700/mt ($618-644/mt) with prices at the higher end of the range representing the southern regional market down INR 300/mt ($3/mt) over the past one week.
According to the sources, re-rollers had nearly completed the liquidation of stocks not lifted by consumers under long-term supply agreements, which provided some stability in the market. However, some volumes have continued to be pushed into the southern regional market, while certain large automobile manufacturers with plants in the south have deferred new bookings, prompting the higher end of the price range to seek lower levels.
“The market is range-bound and the trend is expected to be sustained going ahead. User industries are maintaining a pessimistic outlook in the last quarter and hence trade activity and new bookings are subdued. Prices are holding but overall trade activity is falling,” a Mumbai-based distributor told SteelOrbis.
“Most market participants are awaiting signals on medium-term trends, once long-term supply negotiations between producers and large buyers commence over the next few weeks for supplies to be made in the first quarter (April-June) of the fiscal year 2025-26. We are expecting very strong bargaining, but the outcome is most likely to be prices settling lower compared to the previous supply terms,” he added.
$1 = INR 86.50
