Firms defer steel price hike

Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan today threatened private sector steel makers with a regulatory body, if the industry does not curb the tendency to raise prices.

Paswan's proposal follows the announcement of a Rs 500 per tonne price hike by Tata Steel a couple of days ago.

In quick reaction, steel makers in the private sectors decided in the evening today to defer any planned price hikes. Addressing the National Steel Consumers' Council meeting in Mumbai today, Paswan said the government was unhappy with the rising steel prices ever since it came to power.

"The producers pass the increase in prices to consumers saying they have no control over rise in input prices. This is not desirable," he said.

According to Pswan, the proposed regulator would monitor the movement of steel prices and identify the demand-supply bottleneck. He did not indicate a time frame for setting up the regulator.

At the meeting, representatives of the private steel makers vociferously protested the idea of a steel industry regulator.

An executive of Ispat Industries said the steel makers would have welcomed the proposal of setting up a regulator provided the governent promised the industry uninterrupted supply of raw materials at a pre-determined price. The Ispat Industry executive meant that the companies were not against the government move if their margins are protected.

Tata Steel announced a Rs 500 per tonne price hike effective December 1, and others with the exception of SAIL, are expected to follow suit. The industry attributes the rise in prices to increase in rail freight, coupled with higher prices of coal and gas.

A SAIL executive said that the company has decided not to increase prices.