NMDC may revise iron ore price this week

Iron ore miner NMDC may announce a revision in the July-August contract price for the key input for steel-making at its board meeting scheduled on August 21.

“The NMDC board at its meeting on August 13 did not take a call on iron ore price. It is meeting on August 21 again to consider the matter. It may revise the price,” a source close to the development said.

On increased demand and lower availability, NMDC had raised the price of the raw material by eight-10 per cent for the April-June contract price.

Following the raise, price of lumps with 65 per cent iron content went up to Rs 5,400 a tonne and Rs 2,800 a tonne for fines containing lesser iron. Steel majors had recently accused NMDC of charging higher prices for domestic firms, while exporting at a lower rate.

The company, however, refuted, saying, “Who says NMDC is charging higher price here than the international price? If the price is higher here, they can buy from outside. Price is a factor of demand and supply”.

There is a shortage of iron ore supply in the country due to ban on iron ore mining in Karnataka and closure of certain mines and curtailment of production in some mines in Orissa and Jharkhand.

Total domestic production has come down to 169 million tonnes last fiscal due to the Karnataka ban. Industry body FIMI expects it to reduce further to 140 million tonnes in the current financial year.