VR Sharma, Managing Director at JSPL, discussed the price picture for the company and the overall demand for steel as India gets into the monsoon season.

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The steel prices were hovering around USD 1,100-1,200 per tonne in the international spot market, especially in Europe.

“Not many of the products are being sold to Europe nowadays because of the fear of duty. That is the reason there is a pressure on the prices,” he said.

The difference in international prices and domestic prices was about USD 200-250 per tonne. “So, there is still a room that the international prices vis-à-vis the domestic prices delta will come down to USD 150 per tonne,” he added.

The company exports 35-40 percent of the total production. The softening is seen only in the hot-rolled coils (HRC). “HRCs were at a price of about USD 1,100 a tonne and now it is at about USD 1,020-1,050 per tonne. The prices of other products are stable. So overall, there is definitely a softening of about Rs 1,000-1,200 per tonne across all the products, which is normal because the international prices play a vital role today,” he explained.

In terms of demand in the domestic market, he said, “Steel plates are in good demand and hot-rolled coils are in moderate demand. The structural steel, construction steel and rebar – there, the demand is very sluggish.”

He added that JSPL had produced 2.03 metric tonnes of steel in Q1, out of which 6 Lakh tonnes were exported. For full year volume target, he said, “We are working very hard to reach to levels of about 8.3 million tonnes in this financial year and exports will be about 2.8 million.”

On debts, the current debt of the company is around Rs 16,500 crore approximately as of now. This financial year, JSPL targets to bring the total debt into four figures.

For the full interview, watch the accompanying video.

(Edited by : Dipika)

First Published:Jul 5, 2021 2:57 PM IST