India's finished steel exports regain momentum m-o-m in Dec'23: JPC data

India's finished steel exports surged by 0.644 million tonnes (mnt) in December 2023 compared with 0.234 mnt in November 2023. Moreover, export volumes increased by 45.7% y-o-y against 0.442 mnt in December 2022, as per provisional data released by the Joint Plant Committee (JPC) under the Ministry of Steel.

Re-stocking in the EU, ahead of new year holidays and global price recovery, have supported Indian steel exports. Also, towards end December, 2023, Indian mills have resumed HRC export offers for ME after a pause of 3 months.

However, during April-December 2023, export volumes fell by 1.4% y-o-y to 4.675 mnt as against 4.741 mnt in the same period a year ago.

Imports decline m-o-m

India's finished steel imports declined by 7.3% m-o-m to 0.725 mnt in December 2023 as against 0.782 mnt in November 2023. However, import volumes increased by 11% y-o-y against 0.653 mnt in December 2022.

Imports declined m-o-m amid the gradually rising export offers on the global platform, and decent domestic supplies. Chinese HRC export offers rose m-o-m from around $559/t in November to around $575/t in December.

Indian steel producers offered hefty rebates on hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) in December, with prices dropping by INR 1,500-2,000/t ($18-24/t) across both products, according to industry sources cited by SteelMint.

During April-December 2023, imports increased by 26.4% y-o-y to 5.566 mnt against 4.404 mnt in the same period last year.

Crude steel production up

Crude steel production by Indian mills went up by 2% m-o-m at 11.968 mnt in December 2023 as against 11.735 mnt in November 2023. Also, production increased by 8% y-o-y compared to 11.086 mnt in December 2022.

During April-December 2023, crude steel output was up by 13.9% y-o-y to 106.082 mnt against 93.158 mnt in the same period last year.

Finished steel production increases

During December 2023, India's finished steel production increased by 3.4% m-o-m to 11.578 mnt as compared to 11.203 mnt in November 2022. Also, the same increased by 4.7% y-o-y compared to 11.058 mnt in December 2022.

Finished steel production rose by 13.1% y-o-y to 101.29 mnt in the April-December 2023 period as against 89.555 mnt in the same period last year.

Finished steel consumption rises

India's finished steel consumption stood at 12.101 mnt in December 2023 up by 6.5% m-o-m as against 11.359 mnt in November 2023. Moreover, consumption rose by about 6.4% y-o-y compared with 11.371 mnt in October 2022.

Finished steel consumption increased by 14% y-o-y to 99.355 mnt in April-December 2023 as against 87.136 mnt CPLY.

Indian steel consumption surged in December 2023, fueled by a confluence of factors. Government infrastructure spending on roads, railways, and renewables boosted construction demand, while anticipation of future growth led to re-stocking by traders and manufacturers. Additionally, supportive government measures like reduced coking coal import duties further aided the industry's performance.