Where are steel prices headed?

There is a general upward pressure on steel prices and that has been exacerbated by the recent floods in Australia which has made a lot of the raw material costs go up. Where are steel prices headed from here on, what can the international prices go to and what will be the impact on Indian steel prices?

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Neeraj Singal, MD, Bhushan Steel and veteran JJ Irani, Director, Tata Sons, speak about steel prices and give their outlook going forward. Below is a verbatim transcript of their interview with CNBC-TV18's Latha Venkatesh and Anuj Singhal. Also watch the accompanying videos. Q: How much do you think Indian companies could be hit by these Australian floods, considering that cooking coal prices have gone up by USD 40-50? Irani: Coal is dealt with in two ways; one is the spot basis and the other way is through contracts. I think the ones who are getting it through contracts, long-term contracts would be better protected. The ones who are importing on a spot basis, ship by ship, will certainly be impacted because the prices gone up considerably, is approaching USD 300 a tonne now, cooking coal. Q: Will there be an additional impact on iron ore prices globally? Irani: No, India does not import any iron ore. And quite a few of the steel companies have their own iron ore. Some who buy, have to buy it at the international prices, but nothing is imported. So, I don