Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have showed a mixed trend with a negative bias over the past week, as trade activity has dipped with major buyers becoming cautious on restocking and market participants starting to retreat ahead of the festival holidays.
Sources said that while benchmark 0.9 mm CRC prices have lost INR 400/mt ($5/mt) to INR 53,300/mt ($606/mt) ex-Mumbai but have remained stable at INR 56,000/mt ($637/mt) ex-Chennai in the south.
The sources said that large industrial consumers led by automobile and consumer durable manufacturers had slowed down restocking having completed raw material procurement to meet their festival season demand, leading to the fall in overall trade activity seen in the market.
According to trade circles, a few southern India-based stand-alone re-rollers have been saddled with large stocks after some of their large buyers on long-term contracts defaulted in lifting stocks, and this surplus is expected to flow into merchant trade, keeping prices under pressure.
“Festival season demand for consumer durables and passenger cars has been below expectations, prompting CRC consumers to become cautious in committing new bookings. Other industrial consumers like specialized packaging and tube manufacturers are also facing sluggish demand. These elements in the market will keep prices under pressure,” a Mumbai-based distributor told SteelOrbis.
$1= INR 87.89
