Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) trade prices have softened marginally even as trade activity has witnessed a sharp fall, with both market intermediaries and end-users reducing new bookings amid uncertain demand projections, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Monday, February 13.
Indian benchmark 0.9mm CRC price was down a marginal INR 100/mt ($1/mt) at INR 65,300/mt ($792/mt) ex-Mumbai and lost INR 200/mt ($2/mt) at INR 63,850/mt ($774/mt) ex-Chennai in the south.
According to a Mumbai-based distributor, the momentum has been slipping in the market as end-use industries have been uncertain whether the upturn in sales seen over the past few months will be sustained in the face of challenges from inflation, higher costs of bank finance, rising energy costs, and disappointments over the recent national budget provisions specific to industrial growth.
He said that ongoing long-term supply negotiations for April-June between re-rolling mills and large buyers have remained in a logjam with the latter not acceding to demands for price escalation over existing agreements, resulting in negative sentiments over short-term price trends.
However, at least two officials at private mills said that the market slowdown will not impede domestic mills’ attempts to continue to increase base prices in March. They said that producers are most likely to push up base prices by at least INR 750/mt ($9/mt) to offset rising input costs of raw materials like iron ore and coking coal.
$1 = INR 82.50
