Pressures have continued to mount in the local Indian rebar market amid higher supplies as more secondary producers have brought plants back into production even as demand from key sectors like housing and rural construction languished at low levels, SteelOrbis has learned on Tuesday, June 23.
Integrated steel mills have also been forced to lower prices during the past week as even limited negotiated supply contracts with large government-funded infrastructure projects were reportedly being concluded at low prices.
According to market sources, integrated steel mills have lowered rebar prices by INR 500/mt ($7/mt) to INR 36,000/mt ($474/mt) ex-stockyard, while secondary producers have cut prices by INR 500/mt ($7/mt) to INR 29,500 ($388/mt) ex-stockyard under pressure from oversupply in a few regional markets.
However, it was pointed out by the sources that in some regional markets like Durgapur in the east and Raipur in the central region prices are slightly higher in the range of INR 31,000/mt ($408/mt) ex-stockyard, amid comparatively less pressure from supplies.
Indicating more secondary rebar producers have been resuming plant operations, an official of Kamdhenu Group, a leading TMT manufacturer, said that since the last fortnight it was able to bring production back to levels of 60 percent across all its steel mills across the country.
He said that, while production was being increased in a phased manner, demand from the construction sector will take at least three to four months to revive, while producers are facing a major challenge of availability of raw materials from distances away from plant locations, but keeping steel mills idle is not an option either after months of closure.
$1 = INR 76.00