The strong negative correction in the local Indian rebar market earlier has been checked by small and medium-sized mills increasing prices, resulting in a slight recovery in reference trade prices, coupled with a revival of restocking by dealers, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Tuesday, March 22.
Indian rebar trade prices have inched up by INR 400/mt ($5/mt) to INR 69,500/mt ($913/mt) ex-Mumbai, while they are up INR 64,300/mt ($845/mt) ex-Raipur in central India, a gain of INR 300/mt ($4/mt).
According to sources, small and medium-sized mills have increased rebar prices by an average of INR 3,000/mt ($39/mt) on ex-works basis, on the back of the rise in energy and raw material costs.
“The almost weekly increase in prices is a new normal. The short downward correction in rebar price was an aberration. The market is being reconciled to cost-push inflation,” a Kolkata-based dealer said.
“Th lower price regime is over. Under these circumstances, dealers are restocking cautiously. On the consumption side, the dynamics are extremely challenging. Consumers either commit bookings expecting to pass on higher prices in end products or are exercising the option of slowing down projects and raw material bookings,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers of India (Credai) has sought government investigations into whether the increase in prices is resulting from the cartelization of steel mills.
According to Credai, the construction cost for housing has increased from INR 1,800 ($24) per square feet to INR 2100 ($26/mt) per square feet for basic housing in just over the past few weeks. As a result, builders are hiking prices of finished housing inventories while deferring new projects.
$1 = INR 76.10
