Steel Industry
sees domestic demand surge in Apr-Oct: Report
New Delhi, Nov 14 (KNN) Due to the
government’s thrust towards infrastructure projects, India’s steel
production and consumption grew 6.4 per cent and 11.4 per cent , respectively,
year-on year (YoY) during the first seven months of FY23 (April to
October), CareEdge Research said in a report on Monday.
The report points out that due to the pick -up in construction
and real estate activity as well as healthy demand from the automobile sector,
led to the rise in production and consumption.
It added that the geopolitical tensions, a fall in iron ore
prices and weak international demand continue to keep steel prices and
realisations under pressure. Domestic prices are expected to remain subdued in
the near term, while strong demand would provide some respite amid subdued
exports, as reported by Mint.
“India is expected to witness a decline of about 50-55 per cent in exports in
FY23 because of the export duty announcement on a range of finished steel
products made by the government in May 2022," the report stated.
“The domestic steel demand growth will be strong at 9-10 per
cent in FY23, due to the government’s infrastructure push and increased
investments in real estate and construction sectors amid an overall economic
rebound. In addition to this, lower raw material prices (on account of increase
in export duty on iron ore from 30 per cent to 50 per cent in May 2022) will
also support steel production in India, though steel prices will continue to
remain moderate,” it said.
“The operating profitability margins of the steel players will
see a contraction in FY23 from the peak of FY22, on account of moderation in
realizations despite relatively lower raw material costs", Tanvi Shah,
Director, CareEdge Advisory & Research, said.
During the current financial year, exports are likely to witness
degrowth compared to FY22, mainly due to imposition of export duties which will
make steel exports from India expensive. Similarly, duty on iron ore
concentrates was raised to 50 per cent from 30 per cent and a duty of 45 per
cent was imposed on iron ore pellets to boost domestic supplies.
According to the report, the higher availability of steel in the
domestic market on account of export duty announcement will lead to continued
moderation in steel prices in the near term. In addition, the increase in
export duty of steel will help in producing steel at lower cost.
The domestic consumption of steel will continue to grow, backed
by improved economic activity and the government’s continued investment in
infrastructure and construction sectors. To serve the growing domestic demand,
local steel production will grow backed by sustained high-capacity utilisation
levels.
Furthermore, a revival in economic activities from the end-user
industries such as construction, infrastructure, automobile, real estate and
consumer durables will support the steel consumption and will aid production in
India. (KNN
Bureau)
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