Indian Steel Sector Recorded V-Shaped Recovery From April Lows

The sharp fall in domestic steel demand due to Covid-19 pandemic induced lockdowns had forced steelmakers in the country to turn to export markets.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Indian steel industry recorded V-shaped recovery, after diving to historic low levels in the month of April this year. The domestic steel demand in India witnessed notable jump during the month of July this year.

The country’s production of finished steel, which had hit its low in April, surged higher to 6.1 million tonnes in June. The output increased further to total 6.8 million tonnes in July. The data published by the Joint Plant Committee (JPC) suggested that the production was still down by 21.5%, upon comparison with July 2019.

The sharp fall in domestic steel demand due to Covid-19 pandemic induced lockdowns had forced steelmakers in the country to turn to export markets. The overdependence on export markets has started to shrink as domestic demand started to gain momentum. This is evident from the exports of 1.4 million tonnes in July, which is lower by more than 11% than the prior month. The Chinese share of export market demand has dropped from 30% in June to 24% in July.

ALSO READ: China and India to be Major Drivers of Future Steel Demand

Meantime, the government is planning to implement new policy in support of domestic steel industry by granting Infra status. Further, it plans to include more steel products under the monitoring mechanism, so as to prevent dumping, especially from China.

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