By Neha Arora
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India’s finished steel imports during the first seven months of the financial year were down 34.1% year-on-year, according to provisional government data reviewed by Reuters on Monday.
India, the world’s second-biggest crude steel producer, imported 3.8 million metric tons of finished steel during April-October and was a net importer of the alloy, the data showed.
South Korea was the biggest exporter of finished steel to India during the period, shipping in 1.4 million metric tons of finished steel, followed by China, Japan and Russia.
Domestically, steel prices were under pressure due to headwinds from weak demand and high supply, “while trading activity remained subdued in view of the ongoing festival season”, the government report said.
Reuters reported in October that small steel producers were struggling with weak demand and falling prices.
India exported 3.5 million metric tons of finished steel during April-October, up 25.3% year-on-year, the data showed.
Italy and Belgium were the biggest markets for Indian steel during the period, followed by Spain, according to the data.
India’s finished steel production during April-October stood at 91.6 million metric tons, while crude steel production was at 95.7 million metric tons, the data showed.
Consumption of finished steel during the period stood at 92.2 million metric tons, up 7.4% year-on-year.
(Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Jan Harvey)
