India extends temporary safeguard duties on some steel products by two months

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Indian government has extended provisional anti-dumping duties on hot-rolled and cold-rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel by another two months, a government notification said, to protect local mills and reduce overseas purchases.

The Central Board of Excise and Customs imposed provisional anti-dumping duty late Tuesday on imports of the steel products from China, Japan, Korea, among others, the notification showed.

Safeguard measures cannot be imposed for a longer term until an investigation by the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping concludes.

Indian steelmakers such as the Steel Authority of India, JSW Steel and Essar Steel had lobbied for protectionist measures to prevent cheap overseas purchases that were undercutting local mills and squeezing margins.

(Reporting by Neha Dasgupta; Editing by Malini Menon)