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Journalism of Courage
In a move which will increase input costs for rest of the industry, two leading steel makers — Tata Steel and Essar Steel — have increased the price of hot rolled coil by Rs 500-1,000 per tonne.
The last major hike in steel price was in February this year. This was in spite of an assurance from leading steel manufacturers under the ambit of Indian Steel Alliance (ISA) that they will not hike their prices till July-end.
A spokesman for Essar Steel in Mumbai confirmed that his company had hiked HR coil prices by Rs 500 per tonne. Effective Sunday, Essar’s HR coil would cost Rs 25,500 per tonne.
The move will result in increase input costs for the automobile industry which consumes a lot of steel. Cost of construction will also increase after the steel price hike.
Tata Steel also jacked up its HR coil prices by Rs 1,000 per tonne. When contacted, a Tata Steel official did not deny or confirm the price hike report.
An Essar Steel spokesman cited rise in raw material prices for increasing the price. Essar officials say steel is still cheaper in India compared with European and US markets. HR coil costs Rs 28,750 per tonne in Europe and Rs 33,000 per tonne in the US. ‘‘None of the user industry is at a disadvantage compared to their counterparts elsewhere in the world,’’ he added.
SAIL, India’s largest steel manufacturer, has, however, not increased its prices. A SAIL spokesman said the company decided against a hike for the current month.
Vizag Steel has also decided against a price hike. P.P. Moharikar, regional marketing manager, said the company has decided to continue with the previous month’s prices for the current month too.
