Indian rebar producers increased prices during the past week to offset increasing input costs, but risking further slowdown in stock movements in absence of any uptick in demand from key user industries, SteelOrbis was informed on Tuesday, September 15.
Indian integrated steel mills increased rebar prices by around 2 percent across regions or about INR 750/mt ($10/mt) to INR 36,950/mt ($503/mt) ex-stockyard. Secondary steel mills increased price by an average of 1 percent across regions or by around INR 300/mt ($4/mt) to INR 30,700/mt ($418/mt) ex-stockyard.
The sources said that rebar producers cited sharp rise in iron ore prices forcing rebar producers to increase prices pointing out that benchmark iron ore price charged by NMDC was currently ruling at a 22-month high while for electric arc furnace route producers, higher price of scrap and/or sponge iron forced them to increase price even further risking slowdown in stock movements.
However, on the demand side outlook in key sectors like construction and housing development both in urban and rural sectors continued to move further in negative zone with reports indicating that the pandemic is rapidly spreading deeper into the hinterland impacting rural areas.
“Long product producers have little option caught in a cleft. On the production side, rising input costs have left them with little option but to increase price. On the demand side, initial green-shoots of demand revival in rural housing construction has taken a hit following rapid increase in spread of the pandemic. Producers will face with mounting stocks once again,” an official at Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) said.
$1= INR 73.50