Steel imports in April show a growth of 64% y-o-y

India's steel imports have rebounded sharply in April on improving demand from construction and infrastructure sector.

Steel imports grew by 64.2% to reach 5.45 lakh tonnes in April 2012 over the corresponding period last year which recorded a growth of 3.32 lakh tonnes.

According to provisional estimates by the Joint Plant Committee (JPC) under the Steel Ministry, Consumption of steel products, which largely remained sluggish at 5.5 per cent in 2011-12, has gained momentum at the beginning of current fiscal. Consumption grew by 7.7 per cent to 5.6 mt in April 2012 as against 5.2 mt in March.

Production during April 2012 also registered a 5.3%  growth to 5.99 mt as against 5.7 mt in corresponding last period.

Steel majors such as SAIL and Tata Steel expect consumption in the current fiscal to grow 8-9 per cent on the back of rising investments in infrastructure.