Observing a hike for two successive months, there has been a surge in raw material prices that has prompted major steel companies to increase prices in April, 2022. Top private steelmakers including JSW Steel, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) and Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) have reportedly increased prices hot rolled coil (HRC) by Rs 4,000-Rs 5,000 a tonne. The rebar price by JSW Steel and JSPL, which are into long products, have increased their prices by Rs 2,250-Rs 3,000 a tonne, respectively.
SteelMint’s data shows that the price of HRC – a benchmark for flat steel – after the increase stands at Rs 79,000-Rs 79,500 a tonne for JSW Steel and AM/NS India ex-Mumbai, while the revised JSW rebar prices are at Rs 73,000-Rs 73,500 a tonne ex-Mumbai and JSPL rebar at Rs 76,000-Rs 76,500 a tonne ex-Delhi. The data highlights that the list prices have surpassed previous highs.
Jayant Acharya, Director (commercial and marketing), JSW Steel mentioned in an article that the company had increased prices by 3-5 per cent across long and flat products but it was only partly covering the cost impact. He further added: “The coking coal that we bought in April will go into the April-May production. Therefore, May-June are likely to be peak in terms of cost of production.”
Coking coal prices that rose to $670 a tonne have come off its highs in the past few weeks. However, as per reports, the prices were still high as compared to last year. Additionally, other raw material prices have continued to soar, where iron ore was on an uptrend. Reportedly, NMDC also increased prices in April by up to Rs 200 a tonne.
As for steel, the prices have been increasing from February and have now scaled to a record. Reports suggest that in the past one month, flat steel prices have increased by Rs 10,000 a tonne. That said, there could be some relief for MSMEs.