India: CRC Prices correct by INR 250-300/MT

Domestic Cold Rolled Coil prices have corrected marginally by INR 250-300/MT. Prices in Chennai had also corrected by INR 300-500/MT. Cheaper imported offers in Chennai have led to this correction. Trading market has been under stress due to plummeting sales.

Prices in Delhi & NCR regions have corrected by INR 300/MT. Currently, CRC of 0.7 mm thickness & above is offered at INR 48,700/MT. Whereas, premium grade CR Coils are offered at INR 51,000/MT. Trading volume has been lower and many dealers worry about this declining sales volume due to holidays. Market participants expect this situation to continue for a brief period. A trader here said,

“We don’t expect volume to pick up till the end of this month. We expect the prices to correct further, if demand doesn’t pick up.”

CR Coils too traded at a discount in Ahmedabad. Talking to a dealer here, it was confirmed that prices of CR Coil have corrected by INR 250/MT. Currently, it is trading at INR 49,750/MT. An official of a primary CRC manufacturer expressed his concern for growing imports. Requesting anonymity he said,

“Imported offers have deeply affected our pricing; we have instances where trades are settled at much lower rates as compared to domestic trading prices. This is affecting our margins.”

Meanwhile, import of CR products continues to flood Chennai market. Imported Prime CRC from Japan is offered at around INR 48,500-49,000/MT. Traders are asking for a price as low as INR 47,500/MT for immediate cash payment, or INR 48,000/MT for 40 days credit. Sellers are resisting for such offers.

Given the current demand scenario, market players expect the prices to decline further. A trader here commented,

 “This is completely a buyer’s market. We are expecting price correction by another INR 500-750/MT in coming few weeks as demand has not improved and sales volume has been lower.”

*All prices are in INR/MT; inclusive of Excise duty, VAT extra