Local Indian CRC prices show no change for third consecutive week

Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have remained unchanged for the third consecutive week at INR 48,250/mt ($752/mt) ex-works as market participants have been unsure of the pricing direction and so have preferred to stay on the sidelines, traders said on Tuesday, May 2.
 
"There are a lot of uncertainties over the current month pricings of local steel mills. At the same time, market participants have no appetite for making fresh bookings in the absence of any uptick in demand from end-users and amid the high inventories held by dealers," a Mumbai-based trader said.
 
"Clearly, local CRC prices have moved up too fast too soon, much more than the current demand situation warrants. There are no signals in the market regarding the steel mills' pricing for the current month. I think CRC prices are on a knife edge and can go in either direction from current levels," the trader said.
 
At least two other traders said that CRC prices at best are expected to move sideways as there is no definitive driver in the market.
 
At the same time, large steel mills are staying away from exports since the appreciating Indian rupee has impacted export earnings and this will result in more material flowing into the domestic market, the traders added.
 
$1 = INR 64.18