SAIL, the largest domestic steel maker, has increased the prices for its products by up to Rs 500 per tonne for March, the company’s Chairman, C S Verma said today.

SAIL is the second company after Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL), which has announced price hike for March.

According to Verma, the price hike has been implemented for all the products, so that they can be aligned with the international prices.

“The (price) correction was required…prices in international markets are rising. Coking coal prices have gone up by $15-20 per tonne (internationally) in recent times, other input costs have also increased. So we had to increase the prices, its up to Rs 500 per tonne increase,” he said.

Yesterday, JSPL had said that it has increased prices for plates and coils by about Rs 1,000 per tonne for the current month and by about Rs 500 per tonne for long products citing shrinking margins and rise in input costs.

Industry sources said that other steel companies may also go for price hike soon. However, this could not be confirmed.

The steel prices have been rising in recent times amid expectations that the market conditions will improve and demand would increase. Besides, input costs like prices of coking coal have also been rising.

Before the hike, the ex-factory price was in the range of Rs 36,000-37,000 per tonnes for flat products like hot-rolled coils. For long products like TMT bars, the price was in the range of Rs 36,500-37,000 per tonne.

In January, 4 leading steel producers Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), JSW Steel, Essar Steel and JSPL had raised the prices by up to Rs 1,400 per tonne.

Flat steel products like hot-Rolled coil are used by sectors such as automobiles and consumer durables, while long products, TMT bars and Saria, are used in the construction sector.

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