The slight revival in local Indian rebar market seen earlier this month has been nipped in the bud during the past week with negative signs emerging afresh with prices edging down led by small and medium-size producers, amid increasing concerns that government measures to boost construction demand is insufficient, SteelOrbis has learned.
Even though large producers maintained rebar prices unchanged, rebar prices from small and medium-scale producers have weakened during the past week as demand from the real estate housing sector has failed to gain momentum as expected and there is little option of overseas shipments.
Small and medium-scale rebar producers lowered prices by INR 500/mt ($7/mt) to INR 32,500/mt ($453/mt) ex-stockyard. The sources said that this was in effect rolling back the price increase in earlier weeks as the increase in prices was not sustainable in the absence of any demand uptick from the real estate sector.
However, large-scale producers have maintained rebar prices at INR 34,000/mt ($474/mt) ex-stockyard, sources said, adding that, with larger inventory-carrying capacity compared to smaller producers, the former were preferring to wait and watch for demand changes before adjusting prices as expected next month.
According to a senior official at a large eastern India-based private integrated rebar producer, the optimism over the government offering a $3.48 billion fund to bail out incomplete or stalled housing projects has fast diminished amid concerns that the number of benefitting real estate projects would not be too large and hence the expected revived demand for rebar would remain muted.
$1 = INR 71.80