“Margins are bound to
improve as coking-coal prices have fallen from a peak level of $350 a ton to
around $300 over the past few months.”
Market experts feel that it might
touch $250 levels on improved supply from Australian mines and sluggish demand.
Steel Authority of India Ltd.
expects its profit margin to improve over the next few quarters as the price of
coking coal is likely to fall further while that of the steelmaker's products
are expected to remain high, Chairman C.S. Verma said Thursday.
On steel prices, Mr. Verma said
they have risen around 40% over the last year on strong domestic demand and
high raw-material costs.
“I expect [product] prices to
remain at the current high level even if raw-material prices fall.” he
said. “Demand for steel will be strong as the government is expected to
increase spending on infrastructure, while demand from industry is likely to
improve from October, once the [June-September] monsoon season ends.”
He said strong demand will drive
India's steel sales up by 9%-10% in the current financial year through March.
Leave a Reply