Steel imports rise 3.6% in October

After giving a stellar performance in August, the Indian steel sector again faced headwinds last month, witnessing a rise in imports along with dwindling exports and consumption.

Steel imports last month rose 3.6 per cent to 0.61 million tonnes (MT) compared to August 2016, latest data from the Ministry's Joint Plant Committee (JPC) showed.

However on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis it was down 46 per cent, it added.

In case of exports, outbound shipments of the metal declined 3.5 per cent to 0.66 MT over August 2016, but on the brighter side they rose 111 per cent compared to that in September 2015.

Similarly, steel consumption last month stood at 6.73 MT, a decline of 7.7 per cent over the previous month. However as compared to September 2015, it rose 7.6 per cent.

Likewise, crude steel production in September declined marginally by 0.7 per cent to 8.09 MT, but when compared to the same period last year it was up 11.3 per cent.

The performance of the over $100 billion industry in September is almost the opposite of what it did in August.

August turned out to be a bright month for the sector, with imports of the metal declining, while exports and consumption registering an upward trend.

After falling for 2 consecutive months, country's steel consumption rose, though marginally, to 6.97 MT in August compared to July 2016.

Also, imports in August stood at 0.62 MT, down 36 per cent over August 2015 and by 2.2 per cent over July 2016.

Exports too witnessed an upward trend in August.

Outbound shipment in August 2016 stood at 0.68 MT, a healthy growth of 87 per cent over the same month last year and 26 per cent over July 2016.