India: Flat Steel Prices Unchanged for April; SAIL rolled over its Prices

Indian Flat Steel industry witnessed no major price changes from manufacturers in April. After a price cut announced by JSW Steel & Essar last week; market was factoring in a price cut from SAIL also. But, the steel major held its prices constant for April. Talking on the sidelines of a conference last week, SAIL chairman announced to keep prices unchanged for the month of April.

However, this could not be confirmed from traders. This week, traders confirmed that prices have been kept constant for this month.

Prices in Ahmedabad remained stable as of now. “HR Coil price for 2.5 mm is trading at INR 40,000-40,500/MT (Basic price), whereas CRC (0.7 mm & above) is around INR 45,400-45,800/MT. Low volume of trading has affected our cash cycle. But, INR appreciation has bought some respite for Flat Steel traders who were plagued with a regime of constant price hikes. Import offers have started to pour in from China. We are expecting few consignments next week, said a trader from Gujarat.

The situation is also very dormant in Ludhiana. The city which is known for its cycle and auto component manufacturing units was not spared from the gloom prevailing across other trading regions. The trading volumes have not seen any revival.

A trader based in Ludhiana said:

[su_quote]We are not expecting any positive signs of revival in the market till elections. Due to upcoming elections, volume of cash transactions has reduced significantly. This has further added to our woes. There is a good inventory of both SAIL & Tata in Ludhiana. [/su_quote]

SteelMint talked to an official of a Cold Rolling unit which supplies its Cold Rolled products to some auto ancillary units. “There was some improved sentiment from the auto component industry for a brief period; however this has not been able to lift the sentiments of other manufacturers. Demand is not going to improve unless our customers increase their capital expenditure. Poor sentiments in the market have slowed down our order pipeline.”

Concern for Hyderabad Traders

Prices in Hyderabad remained stable for this month; however, manufacturers were reluctant to take advance bookings for CR Coils of width 1250 mm. “These Coils are traded in big volumes in the market and if manufacturers continue with this trend, it will affect the demand for CR products.” said a trader based in Hyderabad.

Flat Steel Prices across India

All prices are basic prices in INR/MT
*prices for CRC (0.7 mm)

Poor demand has restricted trading activities across India, but appreciating INR has ignited interests from domestic traders & manufacturers. There has been increase in number of queries for imported Flat products from traders, said an importer. Industry experts are closely watching this situation since further appreciation of INR can put pressure on domestic prices and dent the profitability of local steel producers in the coming days.