Local Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have returned to their downward trend during the past week, losing INR 250/mt ($3.5/mt) to INR 34,000/mt ($480/mt) ex-works, a new 36-month low amid a further thinning of trading activity, SteelOrbis has learned.
According to the traders, neither end-users nor market intermediaries have even made low-volume fresh bookings as every market participant felt that prices are yet to bottom out and as prices still face a lot of downside risks.
Even the much-expected rise in activity after the end of festival holidays last week has failed to materialize and the report of core Indian industrial sector output declining 5.2 percent in September over the corresponding month of the previous year has accentuated the negative outlook in the market, the traders said.
“Large domestic steel mills increased export trades. But this is unable to adequately impact in lowering inventories and, coupled with low demand from manufacturing end-users, has put fresh pressure on local HRC prices,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“It is a classic bear market where continued expectations of a further fall in prices are keeping actual users away from making fresh bookings. There is no anticipation of prices bottoming out in the short and medium term either,” the trader added.
$1 = INR 70.80
