Govt not to intervene

The government is not inclined to intervene if steel companies raise prices, Steel Secretary Atul Chaturvedi has said. “If prices can go down, they can rise also. We have no immediate plans to intervene in pricing,” Chaturvedi told reporters on the sidelines of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) Steel Summit here.

Domestic steel companies plan to raise prices next month by 5-6 per cent. Earlier this quarter, most companies had cut prices 4-5 per cent. The rise is planned on the back of a buoyant demand and the expected increase in prices of iron ore and coking coal, when purchase contracts come up for renewal in January.

“International prices have gone up, so it’s likely that domestic prices will also go up next month,” SK Roongta, chairman of country’s biggest steel producer SAIL told reporters here.