Local Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have slumped by INR 850/mt ($11/mt) week on week to INR 38,200/mt ($507/mt) ex-works as two of the largest steel trading hubs in the west and north of the country have closed down during the past week and as most secondary market dealers have been staying away from business and the market is expecting base price cuts by domestic steel mills in the coming weeks, SteelOrbis has learned on Monday, March 23.
According to traders, steel trading hubs around Mumbai in the west have closed down operations, with all local dealers also doing the same, while in the north secondary steel dealers around Delhi have closed operations and the number of active traders in neighboring Haryana and Punjab have brought down trading activity to the bare minimum, impacting prices and sentiments during the week as local governments have progressively announced lockdowns and restrictions on normal activity.
Market sources said that tepid buying has been noticed in the southern and eastern regional markets and prices have softened as end-users were only willing to conclude small-volume trades at lower prices. Sources said that, even in these regional markets, a large number of dealers are reported to be offering discounts ranging around INR 500/mt ($7/mt) to conclude deals.
At least two traders said that, if market activity closes down in more regions over the next few weeks, domestic steel producers will have little option but to lower base prices for April deliveries, which has also prompted end-users and dealers to defer any immediate booking for current-month deliveries.
$1 = INR 75.20