Local Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have remained stable for the second consecutive week at INR 39,000/mt ($604/mt) ex-works amid a cautious market mood and uncertainty over steel mills’ December pricing, traders said on Monday, November 27.
“The market is lacking activity and prices are stagnant in the absence of any signals on base prices from local steel mills for December deliveries,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“Base prices can move in either direction and so a cautious mood prevails among market participants. The market is completely price-driven as there is no support from the demand side and dealers are already carrying comfortable inventories,” the trader added.
Two other traders said that Indian steel mills have kept their base HRC prices stable for the past two months and the market expects changes in December, but no one is second guessing the direction of such a change.
Clearly, most flat steel products are under pressure from the slow movement of stocks and no reports of any significant export shipments over the past few weeks, the traders said.
$1 = INR 64.59
