India's steel index declines for the fourth week in a row due to market uncertainty.

The presence of less expensive import substitutes in the market has hurt domestic trade in hot rolled coil (HRC). By this weekend, the exy-Mumbai basis assessment of the domestic HRC (IS2062, Gr-E250, 2.5-8mm) was INR 55,900/t, with a range of INR 55,000-56,000/t, excluding GST at 18%. On the other hand, market sources have been reporting that, on a coil-by-coil basis, imported alternatives are being offered for approximately INR 54,000–54,500/t exy-Mumbai, minus GST.
This year, from July to September, the volumes of bulk HRC and plate imports increased, even though it was a traditionally poor time because of the monsoons. For example, 1.217 million of these were imported during the specified time, compared to 7.947 million in July–September 2022, based on vessel line-up data that SteelMint maintains. Additionally, according to the preliminary report, imports were 526,907 t in October 2023 compared to 235,240 t the month before.
In contrast to the final operating tags for October sales, Indian producers of finished flat steel have rolled over their list price tags for November sales early. But since SteelMint is still looking through the price tags for information, no reporting has been completed as of yet.