India minister to review steel prices, wants duty cut

By Rajkumar Ray

NEW DELHI, Feb 2 (Reuters) - India will review next week a decision of steel makers to raise prices, a minister said on Saturday, even as he sought to cut in import duties on raw materials in the budget later this month to help firms lower costs.

On Friday, Tata Steel (TISC.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) raised hot and cold-rolled coil prices by 2,000-2,500 rupees a tonne while smaller firms such as JSW Steel (JSTL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), Bhushan Steel & Strips (BSSL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), Essar Steel and Ispat Industries (ISPT.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) said they will follow suit.

Last month, the state-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) said it expects prices to go up by $50 a tonne by March.

On Saturday, Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the rise in global steel prices was out of the control of the government.

"(The) domestic price rise is related to global prices. But we will urge steel companies to moderate prices," he told a news conference in New Delhi. The ministry will convene a meeting of steel makers next week to review the prices, he added.

DUTY CUT

Robust demand for steel from infrastructure and manufacturing sectors in fast growing economies such as China and India, coupled with rising costs of iron ore and coking coal, have put pressure on global steel prices.