Stainless steel imports dip 70% in Dec

The country’s stainless steel imports dipped by 70 per cent to 6,000 tonnes in December, weakening the industry’s demand for raising import duty on the alloy. After surging by over 60 per cent to 20,000 tonnes in November, the imports declined by 14,000 tonnes last month, as demand weakened after buyers delayed their purchases in anticipation of prices to cool down further.

At present, a tonne of cold-rolled stainless steel is costing around Rs 1.18 lakh, whereas in November it was Rs 1.45 lakh a tonne. “The prices showed a stabilising trend in December end, but fluctuation in rates over the last couple of months led to drop in sales as buyers delayed their purchases,” Joint Plant Committee executive secretary G K Basak said.