Steel stocks in demand; gain up to 4%

Shares of steel companies gained today amid reports of Board of Safeguards upholding Directorate General of Safeguards (DGS) recommendations for imposition of 20 per cent safeguards duty on certain steel products to protect interests of the domestic industry.
Jindal Steel & Power Ltd climbed 3.72 per cent, Tata Steel was up 3.54 per cent, while JSW Steel gained 3.08 per cent, SAIL rose by 1.96 per cent and Bhushan Steel went up by 1.72 per cent on BSE.
Last week, DGS had recommended a "provisional safeguard duty at the rate of 20 per cent ad valorem for 200 days, which is considered to be the minimum required to protect the interest of the domestic industry".

The Board of Safeguards has approved the recommendations of the DG Safeguards, sources said.
Safeguard duty is a WTO-compatible temporary measure that is brought in for a certain time-frame to avert any damage
to a country's domestic industry from cheap imports.
DGS examined the application from major steel producers -- SAIL, Essar Steel and JSW Steel -- and found that "prima-facie increased imports of (certain kinds of steel) have caused or are threatening to cause serious injury to the domestic producers..."
The safeguard duty is imposed by the revenue department on the recommendations of DGS.