Steelmakers
such as SAIL and JSW Steel see a rebound in demand in the January-March quarter
on rising offtake for long-products, used mainly in construction.
“Demand
has been robust in the current quarter,” said Mr Pankaj Gupta, General Manager
Finance at APL Apollo, a steel tube maker. The rise in offtake is driven by the
rush to complete tenders for Government projects before end-March. “As we have
to close the orders within the quarter, the demand is automatically better,” he
said.
Though SAIL
on Tuesday raised the ex-factory base prices for three of its long products –
the TMT bars, angles and channels by Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 a tonne, its officials
clarified that the selling prices for end-users in February remain unchanged.
“The demand is picking up and it is going to
be a brisk quarter, prices are expected to remain firm”, said the SAIL Chairman, Mr
C.S. Verma.
The
current quarter also happens to be the last quarter of the terminal year of the
11th Five-Year Plan. As a result, there is a rush to meet targets on various
Government projects, thereby triggering an increased demand, Mr Verma said.
“The
sentiment is definitely better than the October-December quarter,” said Mr
Jayant Acharya, Director Commercial and Marketing at JSW Steel Ltd. Like SAIL,
JSW is also witnessing an improved offtake in long products. The improved offtake
is mainly from the construction segment, while the demand for flat products
used by auto and consumer durable makers continues to be sluggish.
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