Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have remained stable for the second consecutive week at INR 53,500/mt ($737/mt) ex-works, amid sustained restocking by market intermediaries and expectations that large steel mills will keep prices stable over the next one or two months, traders said on Tuesday, November 13.
“Prices have remained stable even in the face of the uptick in import volumes. With local steel mills expected to maintain base prices unchanged, restocking by dealers has enabled prices to remain stable,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“However, a key driver like sales growth in the automobile industry continues to be a concern. I would presume that, in the short term, local CRC prices will remain range-bound with limited upside potential,” the trader added.
However, two other traders said that some large steel mills are offering volume discounts of around INR 500/mt, an indicator that steel mill-end inventories could be on the higher side, and also in order to compete against higher volumes of inward shipments.
$1 = INR 72.63