Local Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) trade prices have remained stable over the past week amid slow movement of stocks, with the market showing signs of resistance to recent attempts by large mills to increase base prices, and with wide variations in discounted sales by distributors, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Monday, January 20.
Sources said that HRC trade prices have been unchanged during the week at INR 48,300/mt ($558/mt) ex-Mumbai and also stable at INR 49,800/mt ($575/mt) ex-Chennai in the south. However, most sales in trade channels have been reported at discounts although the levels of discounting have varied widely. Some in the market said that in the western region bookings have been concluded at a price of INR 47,000/mt ($543/mt), while others claimed deals were done at a further INR 1,000/mt ($12/mt) lower, net of discount, in northern regional markets.
At least two traders averred that the recent move by large integrated mills has proved to be counterproductive as there they are not receiving bookings at higher prices.
They said that officials at private mills are saying that all bookings done by mills have been at discounts, reflecting the resistance of buyers, making base price revisions ‘largely a futile exercise based on the expected imposition of safeguard duty on imports and hopes of reduced competition.”
“The market is extremely price-sensitive as demand is weak and there is a number of cheaper import offers, and hence buyers will not accept higher prices. Producers are banking on tariff protection against imports, but it may not be enough to support local prices as mills are working at maximum capacity levels,” a Mumbai-based distributor told SteelOrbis.
“It is completely a buyer’s market and the latter are negotiating extremely hard even for small-volume bookings. Bargain prices are the norm in the market now,” he added.
$1 = INR 86.60