The local Indian rebar market has showed a mixed trend over the past week, with prices recovering slightly in select regions amid moderate bookings by large buyers, but overall trade activity including retail trade has continued to remain sluggish, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Tuesday, July 21.
Sources said that trade-level rebar prices have inched down INR 100/mt ($1/mt) to INR 44,200/mt ($458/mt) ex-Mumbai but have recovered and gained INR 800/mt ($8/mt) to INR 46,000/mt ($477/mt) ex-Chennai in the south amid reports of large engineering procurement companies (EPCs) booking moderate volumes.
Rebar trade prices have lost INR 200/mt ($2/mt) to INR 39,800/mt ($413/mt) ex-Raipur and are down INR 500/mt ($5/mt) to INR 40,300/mt ($418/mt) ex-Durgapur in the east.
The sources said that, though the low-level return of large buyers offers erratic support in a regional market, overall the market has remained under pressure from rising inventories, oversupply and weak monsoon season demand as construction activities have been forced to slow down.
At the same time, retail trade activity has continued to remain at negligible levels with urban and semi-urban real estate developers limiting bookings to meet immediate requirements, the sources said.
“The concern in the market is not only over low demand in the current monsoon season. Producers and distributors are fearing that this low demand can stretch beyond the current season. Energy cost-driven inflationary pressures will continue to push up costs of production, while demand will remain sluggish. Margins will remain under pressure well into September,” a Kolkata-based distributor said.
“Sellers are desperately trying to hold the price line as current margins from finished long products are very close to negative,” he added.
