Spurt in steel prices temporary; no inflationary concern: Govt

The government today termed the rise in steel prices by SAIL, JSW and Essar Steel as a "temporary phenomena" and said there is no inflationary concern at present because of the hike.

"There has been a spurt in steel prices in the domestic market recently but it is a temporary phenomenon and at present there is no inflationary concern," Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh said here.

However, the Minister cautioned that measures would be taken to control prices if they rise abnormally.

Steel producers like Steel Authority of India, JSW Steel and Essar Steel today raised prices of their products by Rs 2,000-2,500 a tonne citing rise in input cost.

JSW Steel even said it would review the price structure in mid-April to ascertain whether there is a need to increase prices in May.

Rates of vital raw material like iron ore and coking coal have gone up significantly in the new contracts between global mining firms like Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Vale and steel makers.

According to industry experts, mining firms are entering into iron ore supply contracts with steel makers for the April-June quarter at about $110-120 a tonne, which is 80-100 per cent more than the levels in 2009-10.

Coking coal supply contracts are reported to have been signed between Japanese steel mills and Australian miners--Rio Tinto and BHP--that acts as a benchmark at about $200 a tonne against last fiscal's $105-130 a tonne.

Speaking on the sidelines of the SAIL open golf tournament here, Singh said there is an urgent need to secure raw material resources abroad and for that the government is in the process of restructuring the Special Purpose Vehicle ICVL, which was formed for scouting and acquiring such assets.

"Companies like Coal India which are part of the International Coal Ventures are not showing much enthusiasm now as they had shown before the formation of the SPV. ... So now we are working to restructure ICVL," he said.

Further, Singh said his ministry is closely looking at the progress of proposed mega-billion dollar projects of steel giants like Posco and ArcelorMittal in India.

On the proposed Follow-on Public offer of state-owned SAIL, the minister said, "The proposal is now expected to be placed in the next cabinet meeting for its approval."

The government is looking to divest 10 per cent of its stake while the company is considering selling new shares in the same proportion through the FPO, which may mop up a total sum of Rs 16,000 crore.