Local Indian rebar trade prices have continued their sharp uptrend after large mills effected their second consecutive long product price hikes over the past fortnight, supported by sustained strong bookings by engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies, while sales at the retail end have remained sluggish, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Tuesday, April 16.
Sources said that rebar trade prices have gained INR 900/mt ($11/mt) to INR 50,800/mt ($608/mt) ex-Mumbai and are up INR 1,200/mt ($14/mt) to INR 50,000/mt ($599/mt) ex-Chennai in the south.
Rebar trade prices are up INR 1,900/mt ($23/mt) to INR 48,200/mt ($577/mt) ex-Raipur and have gained INR 1,500/mt ($18/mt) to INR 48,500/mt) ex-Durgapur in the east.
According to the sources, large integrated mills led by Jindal Steel and Power Limited, JSW Steel Limited and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) effected second price increases in April across long product categories, riding on the back of improved bookings and faster movement of stocks both at mills and trade channels.
“The aggressive price increase by mills and the sharp spike at trade-level prices have created some panic among end-users even as retail sales to real estate developers have remained slow. A section of traders maintains that the sharp rise seen over the past few weeks was not justified as demand dynamics had not changed much,” a Kolkata-based distributor said.
“It may be noted that bookings have been rising only in the case of large-volume procurements by contractors from mills. Volume movements across other distribution channels remain moderate. There are some deep apprehensions that the market may be heading for a correction after such a rapid rise,” he said.
$1 = INR 83.50
