India’s HR Strip market softened in early May as abundant domestic supply and muted downstream activity outweighed a modest cost push from freight and energy. Early April brought brief optimism and selective restocking, but mid-April saw large inflows of coking coal, scrap and duty-free HR coil, expanding prompt availability and easing market sentiment. Toward late April and into early May, integrated mills continued operating at high run-rates following a strong production print, while HR strip stockists reduced purchases ahead of the monsoon. At the same time, rising bunker and LNG/gasoil costs linked to Middle East tensions created only a limited cost headwind, which domestic supply largely absorbed. As a result, transactional levels for HR Strip remained under pressure through the opening weeks of May, reflecting a market shaped more by supply abundance than cost escalation.
End-user trends diverged across sectors as buyers balanced material availability with project...
About ChemAnalyst
Leave a Comment
Comments (0)