Domestic HR-plate prices slumped further as of week 22 of CY ’21 on reduced buying interest from traders. Supply chain disruptions led to a decline in the trade segment.
SteelMint’s benchmark assessment for HR-plates(IS-2062/E350) of 5-10 mm is INR 65,000-66,000/t (exy-Mumbai), down INR 1,000/t compared to last week’s prices of INR 66,000-67,000/t (exy-Mumbai). Prices are exclusive of GST @ 18%.
“Market activities stand disrupted in the northern and western regions because of the extension of the lockdown till 1 June ’21. Buying interest has been consistently low this month and might improve as the market restrictions are gradually lifted,” said western-India based trader.
End-user segments are seeing continuous increase in developmental projects:
Energy and power sector-
i) Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) has awarded a project worth INR 238.6 crore to Salasar Techno Engineering for construction of a 201 kms transmission line network with four sub-stations in Arunachal Pradesh. The estimated tenure of completion is 24 months.
ii) Wheels India plans capex in wind energy segment- Wheels India Ltd has pl anned a capex of INR 100 crore this year to increase manufacturing of components for the wind energy segment.
The company also caters to wheels demand from various automobile segments with an annual production capacity of 10.3 million wheels. It commissioned a cast aluminium plant in end Oct ’20 with a production capacity of 7,50,000 wheels a year.
Infrastructure sector-
i) NHAI floats tender for Delhi-Katra e xpressway- The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has floated a tender for construction of a 97 kms stretch of expressway at an estimated project cost of INR 5,495 crore. The expressway under construction spans Balsua district of Pathankot till the 4th Tawi Bridge in Jammu town.
ii) Chennai-Surat expressway gets nod- The infra -project aims at cutting down travel time by six hours and distance by around 330 kms. The project cost is estimated at INR 50,000 crore and will benefit both passenger and cargo movements. The current distance between Chennai and Surat is 1,600 kms which willshall be cut down to 1,270 kms with the commissioning of this project.
iii) PNC Unnao Highways, project awarded under HAM- PNC Infratech’s wholly-owned subsidiary has been awarded the project of developing a 70 kms stretch of NH31 at an investment of INR 160 crore. The project involves conversion of a two-lane road into a four-lane for the mentioned stretch based on the hybrid annuity model (HAM) under the Bharatmala Pariyojana.
Chinese HR-plate offers see steep decline after hitting all-time high- Chinese HR-plate prices dropped by around $120/tonne (t) this week after being in vantage point last week.
The current week’s assessed export offers for HR-plates (SS400, 5-10mm) stand at around $900-940/t FoB China against $1,020-1,045/t FoB a week back.
Markets are impacted due to:
- Increasing government intervention to leash surging prices.
- Continuous decline in Chinese steel futures.
- Decline in buying intent as buyers turn observant, in anticipation of further corrections.
Outlook-
Indian steel mills are not looking at any immediate correction in the near term. However, traders in major markets like Delhi and Mumbai are adopting a wait-and-see approach while there is still uncertainty in respect to the prices of HR-plates owing to limited trade.
Leave a Reply