[SMM Steel] India Domestic Steel Sentiment Mildly Positive Amid Power Cuts

[India Export] India’s HRC export prices for Europe stood at 680USD/tonne FOB India, corresponding to a seller target of 760USD/tonne CFR Europe. European production disruptions supported firmer asking prices despite subdued buying, while fresh transactions at the higher levels remained unconfirmed. For Vietnam, the indication for India-origin SAE1006 HRC reference stood at 575USD/tonne CFR, with no active Indian mill offer confirmed at that level amid firmer prices in Europe and the domestic market. Domestically, the Mumbai HRC reference held at 656USD/tonne (63,000INR/tonne) EXW, excluding 18% GST. Europe remained the focus of higher Indian export targets, while participation in Vietnam stayed limited. Buyer acceptance of the European targets remains the key test for translating stronger seller expectations into fresh export bookings.

[European Union] European HRC prices showed mixed movements, with the northwest European assessment edging up to about USD 819/tonne EXW while Italy slipped to around USD 827/tonne EXW. Northern mills were offering roughly USD 832–854/tonne as they sought higher levels for December production, although demand remained subdued. Meanwhile, the Italy HRC import assessment rose to about USD 692/tonne CIF amid tighter import availability and domestic production disruptions. Pasted text

India’s steel ministry is unlikely to introduce new measures to curb cheap steel imports in the near term, despite requests from domestic steelmakers to raise import protection, according to a government source. India imported around 3.5 million tonnes of finished steel during April-August, up 29.5% year on year, with China accounting for 31.8% of total imports. A petition has reportedly sought an increase in the safeguard duty from the current 11.5% to above 20%, but the government is not considering a hike at present as domestic steel prices are already high. India had introduced safeguard duties on some steel products in December 2025 and also started an anti-dumping investigation into hot-rolled steel imports from China, Japan and Russia in June. Meanwhile, domestic steel prices have increased in recent weeks due to higher coking coal costs and stronger demand after the monsoon, with infrastructure and automotive demand showing improvement. Higher imports remain a key risk to domestic mills’ margins if import competition strengthens further.