Prices in the local Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) have remained stable during the past week at INR 46,000/mt ($670) ex-works, with a cautious mood prevailing in the market owing to mixed signals over short-term trends, traders said on Monday, July 2.
Market sources said that local steel mills have been active in concluding ex-India HRC export contracts to Gulf Co-operation Council and Malaysian markets during the past week, whereas at the same time Indian importers have concluded significant transaction volumes for ex-Japan HRC for deliveries at the end of the current month.
Market participants are keeping a close watch on how HRC export-import dynamics play out on local Indian prices even though the fact that import deals are being concluded at a time of depreciation of the Indian rupee could be a cause of concern for Indian mills, which would factor it in while they announce new price lists for July deliveries, the sources added.
“My assessment is that Indian mills will announce base price revisions for current month deliveries over the next few days but the increase will be modest,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“Given the low volume activity in the market with dealers restricting themselves to small-volume transactions, I would expect HRC prices to move within a narrow range for the next few weeks,” he added.
$1 = INR 68.70