Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have remained stable for the second consecutive week at INR 41,000/mt ($637/mt) ex-works amid sluggish market conditions and uncertainty over Indian steel mill’s August pricing, traders said on Tuesday, July 25.
“Most dealers’ stocks are more than sufficient and they do not seem to have the appetite for fresh bookings as demand persists at low levels,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“At the same time, there are a lot of confusing signals over steel mills’ August pricing. A section of the market expects Indian steel mills to hike their base prices riding on healthy exports. But another section feels that, given the huge slump in CRC prices early this month, steel mills will adopt a more cautious approach in their domestic pricing,” the trader added.
Market sources said that large steel mills have been able to conclude exports of significant CRC volumes during the past two months, mainly to Southeast Asian markets, and higher export revenues would remove the need for any adjustment to domestic pricing despite the sluggish movement of stocks at the dealers’ end.
$1 = INR 64.38
