Local Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) traded prices have remained stable at higher levels after earlier hikes. Most market participants have been taking a pause to assess the conflicting pressures coming from producers and consumer segments, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Monday, March 21.
Indian HRC traded prices have remained at INR 74,400/mt ($982/mt) ex-Mumbai and are unchanged at INR 71,950/mt ($949/mt) ex-Chennai in the south, amid signals that mills will soon again increase base prices in April after closing account books at the end of the fiscal year on March 31.
However, at the consumption end, pressures are mounting on domestic steel producers with key consumer industries like steel fasteners, bicycles and consumer durable manufacturers in small and medium-scale industries in the northern region taking protests against the rapid increases in steel prices to the streets and even communicating to the government with threats of halting operations of small and medium-scale units across regions.
According to trade circles, continued base price increases by mills “seem inevitable multiple times a month” given rising imported input costs and freight rates, but the only uncertainty looming is possible government intervention in steel pricing as sought by representative organizations of consuming industries.
“The secondary sales market has factored in expected base price increases in the range of INR 2,000-4,000/mt ($26-52/mt) in April, without any government intervention. Producers will continue to cite input cost rises and supply chain disruptions to push up prices, while consumers allege ‘profiteering’ by mills,” a Mumbai-based distributor said.
“In the conflict between producers and consumers, the balance is clearly in favour of the former, with stronger export opportunities arising from new markets following supply chain disruptions in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and this offers leverage to local producers to sustain the uptrend in prices in the local market overlooking intermittent resistance,” he said.
$1 = INR 75.80
