Prices in the local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) market have softened during the past week, with prices decreasing by INR 500/mt week on week to INR 45,000/mt ($700/mt) ex-works, with buyers resisting high price levels and retreating, amid mounting inventories in the market and given the lack of appetite among end-users, traders said on Tuesday, September 19.
“The rise of INR 2,000/mt in a single week earlier in the month was too high in too short a time. The negative reaction and buyers’ resistance was only expected considering that there was no improvement in demand to justify such high price increases in the first place,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“With the government cautioning steel mills against exorbitant hikes in base prices, I feel local CRC prices will react further and buyers have been staying away in such an anticipation,” the trader added.
As in the case of most other flat products, there are several steel mills which have so far desisted from increasing their base prices, excluding the two large steel mills announced INR 2,000/mt revisions early in the month, market sources said.
The sources said that, though there has been no confirmation from producers, the market is expecting steel mills to adjust their base prices due to the slowdown in off-take and government caution, and also since most dealers and end-users are delaying fresh bookings.
$1 = INR 64.29