India's finished-steel output in
the April-August period rose nearly 10% from a year earlier to 29.06 million
metric tons, provisional data from the steel ministry showed on Monday.
Steel consumption during the
first five months of this fiscal year increased by mere 1.3% to reach 28.05
million tons, the data showed. However, Imports fell by nearly 45% to 2.27
million tons while exports grew by 56.7% to reach 1.82 million tons.
Demand expansion was weak due to
a slow pace of growth in the automobile, household appliances and construction
sectors, which consume the bulk of steel produced in the country, a steel
ministry official said.
The official added that
consumption is expected to pick up after the June-September period when monsoon
ends.
Leave a Reply