The spread between benchmarked hot rolled and cold rolled coils widened to an 18-month high of INR 8,600/tonne ($103/t) in April 2024, reveals data maintained with BigMint. Such levels were last seen in October 2022. Traditionally, CRCs are sold at a premium to HRCs. However, the spread has been widening since July 2023 – mainly on account of the steady price erosion in HRCs since September-October 2023. Prices have fallen from around INR 57,900/t ($693/t) in these two months last year to INR 52,600/t ($630/t) in April 2024. CRCs, on the other hand, have moved in a narrow range in this period, navigating from INR 63,500/t ($760/t) to INR 61,200/t ($733/t).
