RPT-Indian steel firms agree to cut prices 5-10 pct

(Repeats story from Wednesday)

MUMBAI, May 7 (Reuters) - Leading Indian steel firms bowed to government pressure to cut prices on Wednesday, pledging 5 to 10 percent reductions, but they urged authorities to discourage iron ore exports and withdraw the tax on steel exports.

The public and private steel makers said they would cut the price of long products used in construction by 2,000 rupees ($48) a tonne, or 5.5 percent, and that of flat products by 4,000 rupees ($97) a tonne, or about 10 percent.

"The steel producers committed themselves to reduce the prices of steep products and hold them for the next three months," Tata Steel (TISC.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) said in a statement.

The chief executives of top steel firms such as Steel Authority of India (SAIL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), Tata Steel JSW Steel (JSTL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), Essar Steel, and other firms, which together produce 60 percent of India's steel, gave the assurance at a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a government statement said.

"These reductions will be applicable for all steel that gets consumed in India either directly or after processing," it said.

Although the price cuts put mounting pressure on profits at a time of soaring raw material costs, industry officials say the steel firms feared that New Delhi could impose sterner controls on the industry that would hit revenues even harder.

Last month India levied export taxes of 5-15 percent on various steel products in an effort to keep down domestic prices as it seeks to control inflation, which has risen to a 3-½ year high of 7.6 percent, lifted by higher commodity prices.

But Indian steel makers are urging the government to roll back export duties levied last month, and have proposed a 15-25 percent duty on iron ore exports as well as price cuts by state-run miners to tame rising costs.

Global steel prices have climbed about 40 percent this year but the price of inputs like coking coal and ore have surged, putting pressure on profits worldwide.

The world's second-biggest steelmaker Nippon Steel (5401.T: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a 6 percent fall in annual profit last month and predicted a 34 percent fall in the year to March 2009. ($1=41.35 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Arpan Mukherjee; Editing by Jonathan Leff)