Steel prices on the rise once again

 But that is not all, as another round of hikes is expected soon with sponge iron prices, a critical input, having jumped by around Rs 1,000 per tonne.

 Riding on the back of increased demand for sponge iron, due to a global shortage of scrap and resulting high scrap prices, the domestic sponge iron majors Jindal Steel & Power, Monnet Ispat, Vikram Ispat, Tata Sponge & Iron have hiked the prices by Rs 1,000 per tonne to about Rs 9,400-9,600 per tonne.

 Sponge iron producers expect prices to remain firm for the next months, with marginal rises in the next quarter. A steel analyst said,