Indian steel mills, which were indicating a correction in plate prices, reduced their offers by up to INR 2,000/t ($27/t) this week.
Weak demand in the end-user segment has pushed mills to go for a revision while factoring in the seasonal disruptions caused by the monsoons.
JSPL has slashed its list prices by INR 2,000/t for Jul-Aug ’21 shipments. Current prices are assessed at 66,000/tonne (t), ex-works Angul, in comparison to last week’s 68,000/t, ex-works Angul.
Also, JSW Steel, a producer of high quality HR plates, has revised its list prices, SteelMint understands. The current effective list prices for HR plates from JSW Steel stands at around INR 69,000/t, ex-works Anjar. Last week’s prices were at 71,000/t.
“Buyers who were deferring their procurements earlier owing to high prices have started coming forward to finalise the orders. We see good realisation in export orders. Also, there is good demand and visibility from boiler and wind tower segments for HR plates as the market has softened. Recently, we have bagged an export order of 4,000-5,000 t,” a JSW Steel source told SteelMint.
“SAIL’s announcement on price revision might take a couple of days more,” said a distributor from Mumbai.
However, the domestic traders of hot-rolled (HR) plates have kept the prices stable this week amid sluggish demand and are expecting steel mills to further revise their list prices, SteelMint learned from credible sources.
For week 27, SteelMint’s benchmark assessment for HR plates (IS-2062/E250) of 5-10 mm thickness remains pegged to INR 65,500-66,500/tonne (t) exy-Mumbai. Prices are exclusive of GST @ 18%.
“Low buying interest in the domestic market is being fuelled by anticipation of further decline in prices alongside liquidity issues in the market,” said a trade source.
Domestic market sentiments are also hit by other factors:
- Seasonal weakness in steel demand during monsoons.
- Continual decline in global plate prices.
China’s steel plate export prices fall
China’s steel plate export prices fall for fourth consecutive week, making it the fourth straight week of decline. The Chinese heavy plate export offers dipped by $10/t this week.
With most overseas buyers concerned about the falling prices demand became weak from a few countries particularly South East Asia and South America. Also, China’s domestic market is to remain closed from 1-5 July on account of the centennial anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party.
The Chinese heavy plate export offers for the current week are assessed at $880-890/t FoB China, narrowing by $10/t from $880-900/t a week earlier on FoB basis for Aug ’21 shipments.
Outlook
SteelMint understands from market participants that the list prices of HR plates are likely to slide further by INR 3,000-4,000/t in the coming weeks amid sluggish demand in the domestic market.
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