Though the domestic steel industry is poised for a minor price hike in March, continued weak demand amid supply chain disruption because of the coronavirus outbreak is expected to keep prices under pressure.
Chinese hot-rolled coil prices have already corrected by Rs 1,000 per tonne in the past few days to Rs 39,000 per tonne. Prices had peaked to about Rs 48,000 per tonne in October 2018.
“We are looking at a price hike of Rs 500-750 per tonne from March 1, as global coking coal prices are up and we are about 10 per cent behind compared to March 2019. So,