OfBusiness TMT Dailies

8th May’23

Price

• Primary producers are eagerly anticipating market stabilization and hoping for prices to be announced today. However, primary mills have not yet initiated price updates. Interestingly, distributors associated with all the mills have already begun offering at Rs. 500-1,000Rs lower than the last recorded prices on April 23.
• Meanwhile, the secondary market has been showing signs of stability, with no significant fluctuations observed in the past two days. The last operated prices of secondary TMT are as follows:
  • Raipur: Rs. 48,000-48,500/ton
  • Hyderabad: Rs. 52,500-52,800/ton
  • Delhi: Rs. 52,000/ton
  • Ahmedabad: Rs. 52,400/ton
  • Wardha: Rs. 50,000-50,500/ton

Demand and Supply

• The steel trade market in India has experienced a notable deceleration, with buyers adopting a cautious approach by refraining from stockpiling materials in anticipation of price reductions. Despite primary mills and secondary mills operating at 90% capacity, the demand for steel remains lackluster.

News

• On Wednesday, the steel ministry convened a meeting with key industry stakeholders to discuss the European Union’s recent decision to introduce a carbon tax. This meeting is a response to the European Union’s implementation of the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), which is expected to negatively affect India’s exports of iron, steel, and aluminum products to the EU.

OFB’s Opinion

• Limited cash flows and increasing inventory levels are expected to lead to a price correction in May 2023 for both the primary and secondary TMT markets. Prices are projected to decrease in the primary segment by approximately Rs. 500/ton and in the secondary segment within the range of Rs. 500-1000/ton.