SAIL, Tata Steel hike price by up to Rs 2,000/tonne

Steel majors such as Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Tata Steel today hiked prices by up to Rs 2,000 a tonne on the back of the excise duty hike and uptick in demand of late.

"Tata Steel has increased prices of long steel products-- used mainly in the construction and infrastructure sectors-- by 1,000 a tonne and that of flat steel products--used mainly by the whitegoods industry--by about Rs 2,000 a tonne," a person in the know of the development said.

When contacted, Tata Steel spokesperson Prabhat Sharma said, "Tata Steel has spared the galvanised corrugated steel sheet price to give relief to rural consumers. The company has effected a modest hike in select products only."

Earlier in the day, the country's largest steel maker SAIL increased prices of its products by up to Rs 600 a tonne to pass on the excise duty burden to consumers, a trend to be followed by its industry peers like JSW Steel, Essar Steel.

"There is a price increase of about Rs 500-600 a tonne due to the excise duty hike. The price increase is effective from March 1," SAIL chairman SK Roongta told reporters on the sidelines of the All-India Induction Furnace Association meet here today.

Partially rolling back the fiscal stimulus, the government raised excise duty by 2 per cent across the board.