Flat steel prices remain unchanged for the month of June as the industry struggles to spring back from the slowdown in the economy. Manufacturers have not declared any price changes as of now, but market participants expect prices to remain stable for this month with minor price rise expected in Ludhiana market.
Speaking to dealers & traders across major trading hubs, SteelMint assessed that prices are trading at previous levels. A tube mill owner based at Tatanagar has procured HRC 2.5 mm of grade Fe 415 at around INR 40,500/MT, whereas premium grades were available at INR 41,000/MT.
But, traders in Ludhiana expect a price hike of INR 500/MT for this month across all Flat products. Ludhiana, also known for its engineering, cycle & auto component manufacturing industry, trades around 90,000-100,000 MT of Flat products in a month.
HRC 2.5 mm prices in Ludhiana are trading at INR 43,500-44,000/MT, whereas CRC prices are at around INR 49,000-49,500/MT. A trader based in Ludhiana commented:
“Till now, we haven’t received any official confirmation from the manufacturers regarding any price hike. We expect the prices of Flat products to increase by INR 500/MT for this month.”
On the contrary, prices in other trading region like Delhi & Ahmedabad have remained unchanged. Price of HRC 2.5 mm in Delhi is at INR 43,000-43,500/MT and in Ahmedabad, it is around INR 44,500/MT.
“We don’t expect any price hike this month as domestic demand is not very encouraging and imports remain a big challenge,” said a stockiest based in Delhi.
Imported offers are Competitive
Chinese exporters are offering HRC at a discount. According to Indian importers, offers for commercial grade HRC are in the range of USD 540-550/MT CFR India. Landed prices of imported HRC would be around INR 36,000/MT (Ex-Port basis, excluding CVD & SAD).
Export Realization likely to decline
Appreciating INR and falling Flat steel prices in global market has also affected Indian exports to certain extent. Industry sources believe that export realizations would be around INR 32,000-32,500/MT against domestic realization of INR 40,500/MT.
Note: All prices mentioned above including ED, taxes extra, except landed prices of imported HRC.
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