Tata Steel cuts long product prices

Tata Steel cuts long product prices
Business Standard, August 12, 2009, Page 4

B Reporter / Kolkata

Tata Steel has reduced prices of long products, used primarily in the construction sector, by Rs 1,000-1,500 a tonne with immediate effect.

A Tata Steel spokesperson said the reduction was in spot prices. Market conditions and low demand due to the monsoon were the main reasons.

Earlier in the month, state-owned Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) and JSW Steel in the private sector, had dropped long product prices.

While RINL reduced prices across long products by Rs 1,000-2,300 a tonne, SAIL cut prices by Rs 500-2,000 a tonne. And JSW Steel had slashed 3-4 per cent of long product prices.

Industry sources said the main producers were pushed to dropping prices, as long products manufactured by secondary producers were lower by about Rs 5,000 a tonne. Secondary producers account for around half of all long products manufactured.

However, long product prices were expected to remain stable over the next one month. “There is a possibility that October onwards there could some upward movement in prices. Internationally, prices are going up and that is a good sign,” said sources.

It appeared that long product and flat product prices were moving in opposite directions. A the start of this month, steel makers increased flat product prices by Rs 500-1,000 a tonne. Flat products are consumed by the automobile and consumer durable sectors.

The increase in flat steel was on the back of the increase in global steel prices. In Europe and the US, demand has been gradually picking up. In the past couple of months, hot rolled (HR) coil prices in the international market moved up $200 a tonne to around $600 a tonne.