The local Indian rebar market has continued its downtrend unabated, with prices suffering further setbacks after secondary mills dropped prices again to liquidate inventories, while trade channels have reported a drastic fall in bookings with the monsoon rains becoming more widespread and even the long-term outlook has become more negative in the absence of any government intervention in boosting industrial activity, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Tuesday, July 2.
Indian rebar trade prices are down INR 400/mt ($5/mt) to INR 48,600/mt ($582/mt) ex-Mumbai and have lost INR 200/mt ($3/mt) to INR 48,800/mt ($584/mt) ex-Chennai in the south.
Rebar prices are down INR 500/mt ($6/mt) to INR 43,800/mt ($525/mt) ex-Raipur and down INR 300/mt ($4/mt) to INR 43,500/mt ($521/mt) ex-Durgapur in the east.
“The market continues to seek lower levels week on week. It is a challenge to forecast a bottom when all micro and macro indicators are negative. The only positive of the past week is that the rate of fall in prices has slowed. But this does not mean a revival is ahead,” a Kolkata-based distributor said.
“Every market participant - dealer, producer, consumer - is carrying excess stocks and no one is willing to make fresh bookings even at lower prices. The demand situation is very worrying,” he said.
$1 = INR 83.50