No plans for regulator: Govt

The government had no plans to create a regulatory authority for controlling steel prices in the country, Minister of State for Steel Akhilesh Das said in Rajya Sabha on Friday.

"In a liberalised scenario, the price of steel is determined by the interplay of market forces," Das said in a written reply. Domestic steel prices have shown an upward trend in the recent months mainly due to growing demand and rise in cost of raw materials.

The minister said the government had taken several steps for stabilising steel prices, including cutting import duties and imposing export duty. Earlier this month, leading steel makers had raised prices of hot-rolled coil by Rs 3,000 a tonne.