India’s largest steel manufacturer, SAIL has kept Flat Steel prices unchanged for September.
Amidst much speculation, SAIL has kept prices of its Flat products unaltered for this month. Prices in major trading regions remain unchanged on account of a poor demand in the industry. Sluggish domestic demand and rising input cost have posed as deterrent to domestic manufacturers, who were unable to pass on the price hike to the end users.
A recent report reveals that Flat Steel producers raised prices by INR 500/MT. However, this hike in price could not be confirmed from traders & dealers. A trader in Faridabad commented,
“HRC 2.5 mm is currently trading at INR 42,300/MT in Faridabad, which is almost equivalent to previous trading levels. We haven’t received any official intimation from the company regarding any price hike. Even if the prices have raised, they are soon going to be adjusted with a discount as demand is still lagging behind.”
Talking to one of the officials of SAIL, SteelMint assessed that market is unable to absorb any price hike at this point of time as cheaper imported HRC from China & Japan are a growing concern for the manufacturers. Meanwhile, Chinese HRC prices have again fallen below USD 510/MT FOB China. This is likely to keep domestic prices under pressure.
An importer based in West India said, “We are currently negotiating HRC offers from China at around USD 540-545/MT CFR India for delivery in October. We expect import offers trading in this range for next two weeks.”
Industry experts believe that demand from specific segments like automobiles has led to positive triggers for steel manufacturers, who are riding on this wave of optimism. Some market participants opine that although there has been partial improvement in demand from auto industry, demand from other engineering & fabrication units still falls behind.
Similarly, CRC prices were also unchanged. A recent consignment of CRC from Japan has arrived in Chennai. As per local traders, imported CRC is offered at INR 49,000-49,500/MT. Whereas, domestic CRC is available at INR 50,000-50,500/MT. However, poor demand and prolong settlement of payments have discouraged traders to book in advance.
Uncertainty, in the domestic Steel industry has increased the concern of traders and dealers manifold. Few expect that there can be a temporary shortage of Flat products in the next 2-3 months, which may give some pricing power to domestic players.
Trading Prices for HRC across India
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