[India’s Wholesale Inflation Rises on Higher Coal, Energy & Metal Prices]

This week, HRC social inventory stood at 3.0752 million mt, down 23,600 mt WoW, or -0.76% WoW, up 13.69% YoY, and up 32.47% YoY on the lunar calendar basis. This week, HRC mill inventory stood at 1.1415 million mt, down 21,000 mt WoW, or -1.81% WoW, up 2.93% YoY, and up 7.68% YoY on the lunar calendar basis. This week, total HRC inventory stood at 4.2167 million mt, down 44,600 mt WoW, or -1.05% WoW, up 10.56% YoY, and up 24.70% YoY on the lunar calendar basis.

Hyundai Motor India has inaugurated its new Pune plant, which has an initial annual production capacity of 170,000 vehicles, set to increase to 320,000 units by 2030. The company will invest INR 11,000 crore in phases to expand the facility which will manufacture the Hyundai VENUE for export to over 35 markets. The investment comes alongside Hyundai Motor Group’s broader USD 15.5 billion commitment to India through 2032, supporting manufacturing expansion and localisation.

On 18 September the European Commission imposed preliminary safeguard measures raising minimum import prices for grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) and transformer cores, with permanence undecided; they expire in February 2027. EU GOES consumption rose 32% from 2021-2025, but EU mills' share fell from 66% to 43% as imports more than doubled, over half from China. Only Thyssenkrupp and Stalprodukt still produce GOES in the EU; Thyssenkrupp has cut output since December 2025. Germany's ZVEI says European producers cannot supply the needed volumes or top grades, making Japanese and Korean imports indispensable; T&D Europe warns the measures will raise transformer costs without requiring EU mills to expand output. The U.S. runs a single GOES mill; its 2018 tariffs covered finished products only from August 2025.