Local Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have remained unchanged during the past week at around INR 33,500/mt ($531/mt) due to increases in import offers and with any price adjustments by local mills being ruled out by the market, traders said on Monday, May 4.
According to a Mumbai-based trader, local HRC prices are seen to be stabilizing after two consecutive weeks of losing ground, largely because the market has been veering round to the fact that local steel mills are unlikely to adjust base prices in a hurry.
Also, the trader said that stocks at dealers had been unwound through aggressive liquidation and discounting over the past few weeks, and moderate restocking and fresh buying has been seen during the past week.
Market sources said that a combination of the upward movement in import offers for ex-China HRC and the weakening of the Indian rupee has reduced the number of import transactions, offering some support for local prices.
Offers for ex-China HRC are reported to have edged up by $5-10/mt week on week to the range of $395-400/mt CFR Mumbai for June shipments, but few transactions have been reported.
In the meantime, the Indian currency has been losing strength against the US dollar for two consecutive weeks, making imports more expensive.
With the rupee pegged at INR 63.58 to the dollar, market sources have said that the local currency is expected to remain volatile and any level weaker than INR 63 to the dollar would continue to offer some support for local HRC prices and import transactions would be restricted.
$1 = INR63.62