PMO Monitoring Steel Prices Daily
Prime Minister office is monitoring steel prices on a daily basis due to concerns about their negative impact on the government’s infrastructure push, said Ranjan Bandyopadhyay, Executive Secretary, Joint Plant Committee, Ministry of Steel, on February 25th. Domestic steel prices across product categories have risen by around 40 per cent, mainly in the October-January period. Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari last month accused big players in the steel industry of cartelisation to hike prices artificially. The industry, however, argues that the sharp rise in steel prices in other countries shows that this is the work of market forces. Domestic steel prices have fallen 6-8 per cent month-on-month in February, Bandyopadhyay said, adding that this correction is likely to continue. “Prices will definitely not sustain and come down this financial year.” This would be due mainly to the rise in imports, following the Budget decision to reduce the import duty to 7.5 per cent across product categories such as primary or semi-finished products of non-alloy steel, long products of non-alloy, as well as stainless and alloy steel. “If imports rise in the future, it may be difficult to retain the prices,” Bandyopadhyay said Kicking off with a low production base in financial year 2021 due to Covid-19, the industry is expected to grow by about 9-10 per cent in the next financial year, he added.
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