SAIL to review prices in November

Steel Authority of India (SAIL), the country's largest steel maker, will review prices next month, chairman V S Jain said at Metal Junction-Metal Bulletin's Indian Steel Conference in Mumbai.

The company had reduced prices by Rs 1,000 a tonne following Tata Steel's price cut by Rs 2,000 a tonne in August end.

"We have a policy of reviewing prices every month and will continue to do so. We have not committed to hold the price at any level and will take a decision as per the market situation," Jain said. Domestic hot-rolled coil prices are currently in the range of Rs 25,500- Rs 26,000 per tonne.

While Tata Steel has committed that it would not increase its prices till Mach 2005, Essar Steel, Ispat Industries and Jindal Iron & Steel Company have announced that they will maintain current price levels till December.

Industry observers said, "Domestic steel producers have been under pressure to maintain prices at the current level and it is likely that prices will remain in this region in the near term."

SAIL will reduce the volume of its exports in the current year. "Compared with last year's exports of around 10 per cent of total production, we will be exporting around 6-7 per cent this year. However, our target in the next few years would be export around 15 per cent of our total production," Jain said.