Indian steel companies raised prices for a third consecutive month in October, by Rs 2,000-2,700 per tonne, citing buoyant demand and a spike in raw material costs, according to The Hindu BusinessLine (Suresh P Iyengar). A senior steel company official said that ongoing geopolitical uncertainty has pushed up the cost of imported key raw materials, including coking and thermal coal and ferro-alloys, in addition to higher shipping costs. The jump in domestic fuel and power costs has also contributed to cost pressure, the official added.
According to data sourced from BigMint, an online market intelligence platform cited by The Hindu BusinessLine, Hot Rolled Coil (HRC) prices have risen to up to ₹64,700 per tonne, compared with ₹62,000 per tonne logged in September. Domestic steel demand remains resilient despite broader macroeconomic inflation concerns, supported by government-led infrastructure spending and urban real estate activity. The report states that India continues to outpace major global markets, with steel consumption projected to grow by nearly 7.9 per cent.
While price-sensitive retail segments may face short-term volume deferrals, institutional and infrastructure-heavy demand shows little sign of slowing significantly. Bhavik Bhagwanji Shah, Analyst (Metals & Mining) at Choice Institutional Equities, said the steady rise in steel prices has been driven by surging global coking coal costs, iron ore supply tightness and firming energy expenses. He added that post-monsoon restocking and steady industrial consumption are giving manufacturers the pricing power to pass on elevated input costs.
He expects key inputs such as coking coal and iron ore to remain firm or trend higher in the near term, due to supply-side bottlenecks and geopolitical logistics pressures. As long as input costs stay elevated, he said, steel mills will maintain defensive pricing floors, making sharp downward corrections unlikely through the remainder of the year. Antu Eapen Thomas, Senior Research Analyst at Geojit Investments, said that besides the rise in raw material costs, supply constraints from maintenance shutdowns at some mills have tightened near-term availability.
Imports have also become less competitive due to the safeguard duty and rupee weakness. Thomas noted that domestic producers have implemented multiple price increases since September, taking HRC prices well above last year's levels. He cautioned that higher inflation and rising interest rates could slow demand in sectors such as housing and automobiles, which may slow the pace of price hikes in the near future, although overall demand should stay healthy.
Rajesh Singla, CEO and Fund Manager at Alpha AMC, said the latest price hike appears to be the tail end of a cost-push cycle that has been building since August. According to Singla, prices have already climbed by roughly ₹4,000 per tonne to a four-year high, with HRC hovering at about ₹64,000 per tonne. He said that nearly 40 per cent of premium coking coal imported from Australia was priced much higher than last year's level, forcing steel mills to pass on the cost.
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine, article published October 14, 2026, citing BigMint data and statements from Choice Institutional Equities, Geojit Investments and Alpha AMC.
Source: thehindubusinessline.com