Steel tags bearish, fall Rs 1000/tonne

Domestic steel prices are on the decline following a dip in demand over the last one week.

Anil Suraj, managing editor, Steel Times Weekly,said, "Demand from engineering and construction sectors is dull and this is for the first time in several years that after Dassera, demand has slowed down."

Steel ingot prices have declined by Rs 1,000 a tonne over the week across all sections in mandi Gobindgarh in Punjab, the benchmark steel market of the country.

The price of ingot is currently quoted at Rs 19,400 a tonne. Plates (5-10 mm) are quoted at Rs 28,000 a tonne, hot-rolled (HR) coil and cold-rolled (CR) coil are sold at Rs 27,500 a tonne and Rs 33,000 a tonne, respectively.

HR sheets and CR sheets are quoted at Rs 27,500 a tonne and Rs 33,000 a tonne respectively, while galvanised coil and galvanised Sheets both are sold at Rs 35,000 a tonne.

Prices in the Mumbai market are, however, steady.

Anil said, "Indian exporters were clueless about stockbuilding in China and European countries in anticipation of a price rise. But there are reports of stock depletion in these countries and Indian exporters can now profit from the exports orders."

Integrated producers waited for a price revision for two months and in the physical market also prices remained stable more or less. But, there was a sudden shortfall in stocks.

"We hope that price would close higher this calendar year to Rs 21,000 a tonne of ingot and similar growth would prevail for other varieties also. The price would solely depend upon the budget for the next year," Anil said.