The government has stepped forward on developing the mechanisms to control the instability in the iron ore prices. On 23rd May’17, Chaudhary Birendra Singh, Union Minister of Steel, said
“Capping is not our aim. The only thing is to give this impression to the manufacturers may be small or big ones that iron-ore prices are not to be capped but some space is given may be two… three… or six months where there should not be any variation or fluctuation of prices,”
“I would like to tell you one thing like I have said earlier that some benchmarking we will put,” he said in reply to a query that whether the government will consider setting up a regulator for iron ore or steel prices, he added.
“This will not happen that prices of iron-ore will fluctuate like Sensex….A mechanism is to be evolved but as I have already explained we are only to guide, to facilitate or to make them comfortable for doing business. We don’t want to impose anything which is contradictory…,” the minister said.
Indian govt. has asked country’s largest iron ore producer – NMDC to review iron ore prices on quarterly basis.
As per reports, India has asked state miner NMDC to consider reviewing iron ore prices only once in three months instead of regular revisions, and help steel companies handle raw material purchases better, said the Steel Secretary.
It is to be noted that NMDC had earlier adopted quarterly pricing policy and it was in Oct’12 that the miner began revising prices on monthly premises over volatility in global iron ore market.
India- Panel on Iron ore Pricing to Submit Report by Month-End
The committee set up to suggest the pricing mechanism for iron ore is likely to submit its report by the end of the current month, a source in the steel ministry said.
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