India: Trade-level HR plate prices decline by up to INR 1,000/t ($12/t) in recent assessment

Trade-level prices of hot-rolled (HR) plates have dropped this week by around INR 600-1,000/t ($). The festive mood around Diwali and Chhatth pooja kept the market activities in bounds. Distributors and traders complained about limited inquiries during the week under assessment. On the other hand, private steel producers continued to maintain higher price levels and have been avoiding any talks around reducing prices, according to a few distributor sources.

The weekly assessed plates (E250, 20-40mm) stood around INR 63,800/t exy-Mumbai, ranging between INR 61,000-67,000/t exy-Mumbai as on 23 November 2023. This had stood around INR 64,900/t exy-Mumbai in the pre-holiday assessment. The end-user industrial buyers are still cautious about bulk procurements keeping the demand lacklustre. In addition, the labour exodus still remained a point of concern, as they are slow to come back to work. The prices mentioned above exclude GST at 18%.

The market participants are closely observing the market for any indications around the mills' list price announcement for December 2023 shipments. A few participants are concerned about another rollover of prices by mills. Meanwhile, the air of ongoing elections and possibilities of the same being announced in the January-March quarter are adding to the woes of the industry. This might lead to a halt in the announcement of new government-funded projects in the infrastructure and civil construction space. Also, the non-organised business sectors like Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and heavy engineering are yet to show a plausible increase in trade inquiries, distributors from the north have hinted.