Steel prices may climb to Rs 5,000 per ton levels post May-June but stabilise from there, Sushim Banerjee, Director General, Institute for Steel Development & Growth (jointly promoted by the Ministry of Steel and steel producers), told ISMW.
Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar on “Survival Strategies & Cost-effective Technologies for Indian Steel Industry,” organised by Steel & Metallurgy, a publication on steel, Banerjee said where the short-term outlook is concerned, till May June, there will be some fluctuations but prices will not come down from the current levels, though there may not be the same rate of growth.
Observing on the current rate of growth, he said: “For the last four months, there has been an average Rs 3,500-4,000 increase in steel prices across categories. This trend is likely to continue till May-June but prices may go up to at least Rs 5,000 per ton on average after that and then there will be stability.”
Citing reasons for the prospective stability envisaged in prices, he said, the industry is also very aware of the concerns of the user-industries and that steel prices should not be very high since imports are still coming in. “The ministry is also advising the industry on a regular basis to be responsible and not to go in for very steep price hikes’, he said.
Reasoning why firmer prices have held up, Banerjee said that currently, inventory accumulation is almost over, because there has been consumption by the end-user industries. Now, once again, it is inventory build-up time. Prices have not reached very high levels and so the user-segment is current feeling that this is the right time to buy since prices may go up further. Demand is thus also going up, he concluded.