Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have shown a mixed trend with a sharp negative bias over the past week amid weak trading activity during the festival holidays and muted restocking by large industrial users.,
Sources said that benchmark 0.9 mm CRC prices are down INR 1,000/mt ($11/mt) to INR 54,000/mt ($608/mt) ex-Mumbai but are stable at INR 58,300/mt ($657/mt) ex-Chennai in the south.
According to sources, large industrial users led by automobile manufacturers reported robust sales growth in September riding on festival season demand, but they have still been cautious in raw material restocking as incremental demand for finished products - passenger cars - is being met from comfortable levels of existing inventories.
At the same time, some standalone re-rollers have been able to normalize their production lines and their output levels are optimal, leading to higher volumes of CRC flowing into the market, putting additional pressures on the price line from the supply side.
“The market lacks direction and any positive drivers. We expect prices to be range-bound with a downward bias. The post-monsoon season has belied expectations of the usual demand uptick,” a Mumbai-based distributor told SteelOrbis.
$1 = INR 88.76
