India's steel prices plunge to four-year low, most affordable since covid-19

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: A surge of more than 50% in steel imports in FY25 has sent the alloy's prices crashing in India, setting off alarm bells for domestic manufacturers, even as they battle slowing local demand and march ahead with planned capacity expansion. According to data from market intelligence firm BigMint, prices of benchmark hot-rolled coils (HRC) of steel averaged ₹48,350 per tonne in September (from ₹57,900 in September 2023), falling below the ₹50,000-mark for the first time since November 2020, when sales hit rock bottom in the thick of the pandemic.

Prices went as low as ₹47,100 in the past week. “While prices have shown some stabilization this week, they have consistently declined, reaching over a three-year low," analysts at BigMint said in an emailed response to Mint’s queries. According to industry experts, steel imported from China has been available at a 5-10% discount to domestic prices even after levying basic customs duty and logistics charges.

This is forcing Indian steelmakers to lower their prices at the risk of eroding their margins. “You will see the upcoming results; all the margins will be squeezed," a top executive at one of India’s largest steel companies said on condition of anonymity. The price fall has been an outcome of a lull in domestic demand coupled with an increase in lower-price steel imports, experts said.