The local Indian rebar market has entered a definitive downtrend with regional markets seeing their sharpest price declines amid mounting negative sentiments, price reductions by induction furnace operators and falling stock movements in retail trade, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Tuesday, April 22.
Sources said trade-level rebar prices are down INR 100/mt ($1.50/mt) to INR 49,300/mt ($580/mt) ex-Mumbai and have lost INR 200/mt ($3/mt) to INR 48,500/mt ($571/mt) ex-Chennai in the south.
Rebar trade prices have suffered a sharp fall of INR 900/mt ($11/mt) to INR 44,700/mt ($526/mt) ex-Raipur and have lost INR 1,200/mt ($14/mt) to INR 44,700/mt ($526/mt) ex-Durgapur in the east.
According to the sources, the absence of large buyers led by engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) companies for several consecutive weeks has deepened negative sentiments and, with stock movements slowing down in retail trade, induction furnace operators have been forced to drop prices to push volumes into the market.
“A correction is gaining momentum into bearish conditions. Large EPC buyers have been major drivers of the market in recent weeks and their exit triggered the downtrend as retail sales lacked muscle to offer any kind of support to prices,” a Kolkata-based distributor said.
“We expect to see some price volatility with a strong negative bias in the weeks ahead. The negative sentiments on industrial growth including the construction sector will spread, adding further price vulnerability on retail level prices,” he added.
$1 = INR 85.00