Downward pressure has eased in the local Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) market and prices have remained stable during the past week at around INR 32,500/mt ($492/mt) ex-works, as buyers are awaiting market direction and as importers have held back from concluding transactions, expecting offers to drop to lower levels, traders said on Monday, November 23.
“With no demand uptick in sight and local mills deciding to maintain prices unchanged even through December, market participants have taken a pause and are currently waiting for short-term signals before concluding fresh bookings,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“The absence of imports has also enabled local HRC prices to remain stable during the past week, following the losses recorded early in the month,” the trader added.
Market sources said that ex-China HRC offers have remained stable in the range of $290-300/mt CFR Mumbai for December shipments, but no significant transaction has been reported during the week as importers have expected further declines in offers in view of the continued weakening of finished steel product prices in China.
Market reports said that the volume of India’s imports of flat steel products during the first two weeks of November were down by 55 percent compared to the first two weeks of October, indicating that appetite for imports was also waning, the sources added.
$1 = INR 66.43