Essar Steel raises prices Rs 1,500/tonne

Essar Steel has raised steel prices by three-four per cent, or up to Rs 1,500 per tonne, the company said

Even in the subdued steel demand scenario, steel makers continue to hike prices. Last month, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) had hiked prices by Rs 500-1,000 per tonne across categories. JSW Steel had said in March the company might increase prices by April. But the company confirmed it had not yet taken any decision in this regard.

Dealers in Mumbai said Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) had also hiked prices by Rs 500 per tonne. SAIL Chairman C S Verma, in an interview last month, told Business Standard: “Steel prices had come down by 10-12 per cent in 2011-12. Last three months, prices have gone up Rs 500-1,000 per tonne in the domestic market. Prices will remain hovering around the current levels and will go up slightly.” The state-run company did not reply to a query sent by Business Standard.  

SAIL and JSPL had hiked prices in March as well.

The latest price hikes come in the wake of NMDC, India’s largest iron ore miner, cutting iron ore prices by up to 7.1 per cent. The company has cut rates of iron ore lumps, but has kept those of iron ore fines unchanged.

An analyst with a domestic brokerage said NMDC’s price cut had brought Indian iron ore rates closer to international rates.

On the steel price hike, the analyst said steel manufacturers were trying to  better their margins from the lows of last year. Given the fall in iron ore and coal prices, steel companies should be able to improve their margins on the back of these price hikes.