India: Trade-level HR plate prices drop INR 1,500/t m-o-m in early Dec'23
Trade-level prices of Indian-origin hot-rolled (HR) plates have dropped around INR 1,500/t in early December 2023 compared with early November levels. The weekly assessed...
Trade-level prices of Indian-origin hot-rolled (HR) plates have dropped around INR 1,500/t in early December 2023 compared with early November levels.
The weekly assessed trade-level plate prices dropped by INR 400/t, as per SteelMint's assessment on 6 December. Meanwhile, the prices of plates (E250, 20-40mm) remained unchanged w-o-w at around INR 59,500-67,000/t exy-Mumbai with the average floating at INR 63,400/t exy-Mumbai, as assessed on 13 December 2023.
Prices of E250, 5-10mm plates also remained pegged at INR 56,500-57,500/t exy-Mumbai with the average computed as INR 56,700/t exy-Mumbai, as per the recent assessment. These prices are exclusive of GST at 18%. The prices mentioned above exclude GST @ 18%.
Mills offer discount or rebate for Dec: Major plate producers were heard to have extended rebates or discounts for December 2023 sales on the list prices for early November, considering the market price levels and demand pull. After the announcement, the list prices were heard in a wider range of INR 59,500-62,750/t exy-Mumbai, excluding GST at 18% across different producers, informed industry sources.
The pace of construction has been erratic this fiscal. However, it still has gained the upper hand against the previous year. The average speed of highway construction computes to around 21 kilometers per day (km/d) in April-October 2023 (4,474 km), with a notional increase against 20 km/d in the corresponding period last year (4,060 km). Moreover, a stretch of 907 km was added to the highway networks in October 2023 which is higher than September's 371 km and the same month of last year (461 km). This is the second-best number this fiscal year after the 942 km added in May 2023.
Consumption, production volumes decline in Oct: The consumption volumes of plates that had outperformed in the slow demand season of monsoon (July-September) this year, dropped in October. This led to concern in the traders' market, which has seen a low buying interest throughout the current fiscal year (FY'24). Production volumes on the other hand were on a continual decline in August through October this year. In October 2023, the production volume stood at around 0.477 mnt while the consumption dropped to 0.459 mnt as per data from the Ministry of Steel, India.
