Days after Union Budget; hike, cut in steel prices

Trade

• Watchlist
• Portfolio
• Message
• Set Alert

 

 

Choose Stock Exchange: BSE LIVE NSE LIVE

26 Aug, 2025 12:21

Volume

Todays L/H

More

×

Days after Union Budget announced measures to reign in steel prices, there has been a hike and a correction in rates.

While prices of flat steel have seen a hike of Rs 1,500 a ton, rates of TMT bars gave gone down by Rs 3,500 a ton, industry sources said.

Executives, however, said it is too early for the Budget proposals to make an impact. "The changes have come about because of demand-supply situations," a senior executive from a leading steelmaker said.

Flat steel prices have seen a rise on the back of sustained demand for vehicles. India's top 10 carmakers saw their sales jumping by a quarter in January, with customers looking out for existing and new models. Flat steel is majorly used by car manufacturers.

All the leading steelmakers, including Tata Steel, JSW Steel, and SAIL make flat steel.  SAIL and JSW Steel have increased the prices.

When it comes to TMT bars, it's the smaller, secondary players who dominate the segment. "With many of these companies beginning to ramp up production, the supply of TMT bars have increased. This has led to a price correction," an industry executive said.

While the bigger steel players had rebounded well after the COVID-19 induced lockdown and had quickly increased production, the secondary steel makers have struggled. Many of them didn't have enough financial resources to re-start production, and an increase in raw material prices, including iron ore, hampered plans.

TMT bars are used in construction and real estate sectors, and the price cut will help calm some of the nerves in the industry. Companies from the two sectors had been vocal about the high prices of steel products, leading to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari calling for an industry regulator to be appointed.

The Budget proposals

The Union Budget, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, seemed to have heard some of the demands.

She had reduced customs duty on several steel products, including primary/semi-finished products of non-alloy steel,  flat products of non-alloy and alloy-steel, and long products of non-alloy, stainless, and alloy steel.

In addition, the Budget also revoked anti-dumping and countervailing duties on straight length bars and rods of alloy steel, high-speed steel of non-cobalt grade flat-rolled product of steel, plated or coated with an alloy of Aluminium or Zinc. This will be in effect till October.

Talking to Moneycontrol, KEC International's MD & CEO Vimal Kejriwal had said this will immediately change the sentiment in the industry, and eventually lead to a reduction in prices.

Steel captains though had a different take. JSW Steel's Jt MD and Group CFO Seshagiri Rao contended that the impact from duty cuts won't be much. He had said that domestic prices, despite the recent increase, are below the international rates and thus imports from other countries may not lead to a reduction in prices.

At present, say, industry observers, it may be too soon for these measures to make an impact on steel imports, and prices. "It may take about a month or two," said one of the industry executives quoted above.