Steel industry: From sprint to jog as export duty hike plays speed breaker

Now, beginning June, steel mills are expected to announce a cut for monthly contracts

Major economies pledged money in under-invested infrastructure in the last two years to beat the Covid-19 pandemic-induced slowdown, fuelling a rally in steel prices not seen since the Beijing Olympics-led boom in 2008.

Steel firms across the world rode the tailwind and posted unprecedented profits. In India, a two-year sprint was tripped in its tracks on May 21 when the government announced a 15 per cent export levy on steel.

The announcement was among a slew of measures taken to tame steel and its raw material prices as part of a larger move to combat soaring inflation.

On the raw