Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have surged on the back of base price increases by integrated steel mills and as indications of a shortage further pushed up tradable prices despite major auto companies extending plant shutdowns or cutting back outputs of assembly lines in response to the lockdown, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Monday, May 10.
Sources said that most steel mills have increased base prices by INR 6,000-7,000/mt ($81-95/mt) to INR 69,000-72,000/mt ($938-979/mt). However, mills and standalone re-rolling mills have reportedly been seeking prices around INR 80,000/mt ($1,088/mt) for assured bookings, anticipating that a shortage of supplies in the market will emerge.
Sources at steel mills said that, with the sharp rise in export shipments of hot rolled coil (HRC), which is expected to be sustained through the first quarter and beyond, the higher export allocations would keep volumes available for captive conversion limited, leading to tight supplies and higher prices of CRC.
Furthermore, standalone re-rolling mills have been citing higher costs of procuring raw material for their rolling mills as a reason of charging higher prices for CRC for assured bookings. They said that the current closure of major automobile and consumer durable goods manufacturing plants has been triggering a steady fall in fresh bookings, but this will not be as prolonged as expected, and producers are tweaking their product mix to keep CRC supplies in the market tight to support prices.
$1 = INR 73.51
