The local Indian rebar market has remained under pressure from sluggish demand, slow retail sales, and rising inventories at both primary and secondary producers who are offering wide discounts in the range of INR 500-2000/mt ($7-27/mt) across regional markets, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Tuesday, November 23.
Rebar prices in the secondary market have lost INR 500/mt ($7/mt) to INR 49,500-50,500/mt ($665-678/mt) ex-Mumbai, while heavier losses are reported from Raipur in the central regional market, where rebar prices slumped INR 2,000/mt ($27/mt) to INR 46,300/mt ($622/mt) ex-warehouse.
Integrated mills have been maintaining high listed prices at INR 58,000-60,000/mt ($780-806/mt) ex-works, but traders said that this level is largely ‘notional’ as bookings are being done at high discounts averaging around INR 4,000/mt ($54/mt) irrespective of volumes booked.
However, a section of producers said that the rebar price fall was somewhat compensated for by the softening in billet prices, which moved down by an average of INR 1000/mt ($14/mt) across regional markets.
“Demand from construction is belying expectations ever since the end of the monsoon season in September. Housing sector demand, critical to retail sales, is also sluggish as builders already have large inventories of finished housing projects and are slowing down new project implementation,” a steel sector analyst with a Mumbai-based financial services firm said.
“Secondary mills will remain under pressure unless there is an external fiscal stimulus from the government to support key demand drivers,’ he said
$1 = INR 74.40