MUMBAI (Scrap Register): Indian Cold rolled coil negotiated price settlement values were unchanged. Distributors have been buoyed by an upturn in shipments to the automobile manufacturers, said MEPS International in a Snippet.
However, orders from engineering and pipe fabricators were weaker than previously forecast. Coated coil values were stable during the period under review.
According to MEPS, buying sentiment, for hot rolled coil, has failed to improve in India. The Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has kept prices for its commercial grade hot rolled coil material unchanged as a result.
The outlook for the plate market is unchanged. Local stockists report that the settlement of payments from customers remains a problem. Moreover, demand from state-funded construction and infrastructure projects has yet to come on-stream.
Wire rod stockists are forecasting that trading volumes will begin to improve from mid-September onwards. Structural section transaction values edged, marginally, higher on the back of rising production costs, MEPS added.
Procurement activity, for rebar, remains weak. The pricing positions of secondary producers based in the Central and Western states have begun to shadow the cost of pencil ingots and billets.
Merchant bar producers were unable to hold on to the price gains achieved in weeks 36 and 37. Purchasing activity amongst local construction firms is weak.
