The Steel Ministry called a meeting yesterday with the large domestic steel majors in an effort to convince them to reduce steel prices due to concerns about high inflation. However, according to insiders, the steel industry indicated that they were not in a position to cut prices of hot rolled coils (HRC) due to the surge in raw material
costs.
Tata Steel and RINL currently sell their TMT bars at a premium to the other producers. They have agreed to cut TMT prices by Rs2,000/t in order to bring prices in line with the market. TMT bars are mainly used for construction.
The steel industry agreed to cut prices of galvanized sheets used for roofing in low cost housing by Rs500-1000/t. Sales of this product by the steel majors are limited as they are increasingly focusing on high-end galvanized products.