There is scope for increase in steel prices: Seshagiri Rao, JSW Steel

"We would primarily want demand to be stimulated by way of increased outlays on infrastructure"

After hitting bottom, steel prices have increased two months on the trot. JSW Steel Joint Managing Director and Group Chief Financial Officer Seshagiri Rao tells Ishita Ayan Dutt that a positive momentum from government expenditure and retail side is noticeable. Edited excerpts:

Can you chart the slowdown in domestic steel demand?

Steel demand growth at the end of March 2019 was at 8.8 per cent. Two things happened. One, credit flow to the economy was impacted, and then there was slowdown in government expenditure. Together, these two factors translated into a big slowdown in the following quarters.

In the first