Local Indian rebar prices have remained largely stable over the past week with a few markets showing marginal gains amid weak trading activity, with large buyers mostly absent and retail trade seeing small-volume bookings, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Tuesday, November 25.
Sources said that rebar trade-level prices are up a marginal INR 100/mt ($1/mt) to INR 42,700/mt ($479/mt) ex-Mumbai and are unchanged at INR 43,000/mt ($482/mt) ex-Chennai in the south.
Rebar trade prices are also stable at INR 38,500/mt ($431/mt) ex-Raipur but have gained INR 200/mt ($2/mt) to INR 38,800/mt ($435/mt) ex-Durgapur in the east.
According to the sources, while large buyers representing engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) companies have continued to remain out of the market, minor support was offered in a few regional markets by retail buying by small real estate developers.
“There are no positive drivers in the market. Retail trade can only offer moderate prices, and hence changes will remain range-bound. Large construction companies can enter sporadically to restock but this can be only need-based as they will tend to avoid carrying large inventories when project implementation is slow owing to liquidity challenges,” a Kolkata-based distributor said.
$1 = INR 89.20
