Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have remained stable over the past week amid cautious restocking from major industrial users facing slower sales growth and lower raw material consumption, while the market is awaiting July base pricing signals from large mills, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Monday, June 29.
Sources said that benchmark 0.9 mm CRC prices are stable at INR 64,500/mt ($683/mt) ex-Mumbai and unchanged at INR 65,400/mt ($692/mt) ex-Chennai in the south.
According to the sources, major consumers like automotive producers have been very conservative in restocking as passenger car sales are slowing down on month-on-month basis and manufacturers were adjusting raw material inventories accordingly, leading to slow movement of CRC stocks from mill to market.
At least two in trading circles said that they are offering extended credit terms to push sales instead of discounts as the latter are unviable for low-volume bookings.
“We expect prices to remain range-bound for the next few months. Inflationary prices coupled with weak demand for industrial products will keep the fundamentals of the market very weak,” a Mumbai-based distributor said.
“We expect mills to raise July base prices by around INR 1,000/mt ($11/mt) which could trigger buyers’ resistance and further declines in trade volumes. Discount offers could become inevitable,” he added.
$1 = INR 94.22
