Indian steel mills roll over HRC-CRC list prices for November 2023 sales

The tier-1 steel producers in the country have announced a rollover of their November month's list price tags for hot-rolled coils (HRC), and cold-rolled coils (CRC) as against those for the end-October sales. Effective list prices from the major producers are hovering at around INR 58,500-59,500/t exy-Mumbai for HRC (IS2062, Gr- E250, 2.5-8mm) and those of CRC (IS513 Gr- O, 0.9mm) around INR 63,000-64,500/t exy-Mumbai. The prices mentioned above exclude GST at 18%.

The tussle between the elevated raw material prices and the pressure exerted by the influx of cheaper imported alternatives have been among the leading reasons, opined reliable industry sources.

Moreover, end-industrial buyers in the traders' market are still catering to their needs based on their urgent requirements elongating it for yet another month. This has resulted in slow-paced market activity levels that have been the operational trend for most of the calendar year (CY) 2023.

Domestic trade market prices fare lower than mill tags: The domestic trade market prices have continued to stay discounted against the tags announced by mills. Competitively priced imports and the shift of sales to contractual or project orders have chipped off the buying interest in the traders' market, opined some distributor sources.

SteelMint's benchmark assessment for HRC (IS2062, Gr- E250, 2.5-8mm) stood at around INR 55,000-56,000/t exy-Mumbai and that of CRC (IS513 Gr- O, 0.9mm) around INR 62,500-63,500/t exy-Mumbai as of 7 November.

On a monthly comparison, the prices of HRC have averaged around INR 55,600/t exy-Mumbai till the last assessment compared with INR 57,800/t exy-Mumbai in October 2023. Similarly, the prices of CRC averaged around INR 63,000/t exy-Mumbai as against INR 63,500/t in the previous month. The prices mentioned above exclude GST at 18%.

Imports a concern: The increase in imports over the past three months has raised concerns in the market. Moreover, the July-September period is usually a slow demand period, but the import volumes continued ticking amid the competitive price levels. Around 1.1 mnt of HRC/Plates have been imported in the said period, as per the bulk vessel lineup data maintained with SteelMint. The maximum volume imported this year came in August (496,910 t). Meanwhile, as per the provisional data, October bulk import levels are estimated at around 526,907 t. Thus, the material availability stands improved in the market for these imported alternatives.

Near-term outlook:

The domestic trade market is expected to stay muted for most of the next week. Meanwhile, considering the current market momentum and challenges, trade prices are likely to be weighed down further but shall show shallow fluctuations. The industry participants are of the opinion that mills shall come up with another price announcement after the festive holidays. The market buzz around mills offering a rebate later in the month is also being heard, however, the quantum is expected to be less.