NMDC keeps iron ore prices unchanged for January

State-owned National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) has kept iron ore prices, for both lumps and fines varieties, unchanged for January even as domestic steel producers jacked up rates earlier this month.

NMDC , which fixes the price of the important steel-making input on monthly basis, "rolled over" the December price - Rs 4,500 per tonne for lumps and Rs 2,810 a tonne for fines - for the current month, the company said in a BSE filing on Monday.

Production by NMDC  went up to 20.2 MT during the nine month of the current financial year compared to 17.6 MT in the same period last financial year.

A possible reason for maintaining status quo is sluggish growth in sales which grew by just 2.96 million tonnes (MT) to 21.25 MT in the first nine months of the current fiscal.

Company officials could not be reached for comments.

The PSU had in December last year raised price for both lumps and fines by Rs 200 per tonne and maintained the October price in November. In October, it had increased the price by Rs 100 a tonne.

Meanwhile, domestic steel makers have raised prices by up to Rs 1,500 per tonne in the current month to tide over the rising input and freight costs and aimed at improving falling margins.

The subdued market conditions, as a result of poor demand from end-use segments such as construction and white goods, also prevented them from jacking up the price. India's steel demand grew by just 0.5 per cent during April-December period of the current fiscal.