Local Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have continued to soften due to a lack of bookings from trade channels and large end-use industries sticking to cheaper import sourcing, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Monday, May 22.
Indian benchmark 0.9 mm CRC price have lost INR 400/mt ($5/mt) to INR 62,500/mt ($757/mt) ex-Mumbai and are down INR 500/mt ($6/mt) at INR 60,350/mt ($731/mt) ex-Chennai in the south.
“Trade channels are in no hurry in restocking considering that mills are most likely to further drop base prices in June. Most market intermediaries are adequately stocked anyway,” a Mumbai-based dealer said.
“We hear that the landed price of ex-South Korea CRC is being booked by large end-users at a INR 2,000-3,000/mt ($24-36/mt) discount to the current local trade price. Domestic standalone rerolling mills are the worst affected and there is a lot of oversupply pressure on local prices,” he said.
However, an official at a private mill has maintained a more cautious optimism. “It is true that there will be some short-term volatility in the market. But we expect positives as automobile and consumer durable manufacturers will continue to post robust sales in the next quarter. We will support our customers with efficient pricing and services to counter cheaper imports,” he said.
He, however, did not rule out a possible base price reduction in June, saying it is an option under consideration.
$1 = INR 82.60