India’s finished steel exports dropped to 598,000mt in November, down by 31pc from November 2019 while consumption of finished steel rose by 11pc to 8.623mn mt, indicating an improvement in domestic steel demand. Compared to October, finished exports increased by 7.8pc to 598,000mt in November as Indian steelmakers catered to recovering demand in global markets. In Apr-Nov period, finished steel exports rose by 33.8pc to 7.697mn mt from a year ago, while consumption declined by 21pc to 53.381mn mt from the prior year period, according to official provisional data.
Imports of finished steel fell to 350,000mt in November, down by 18.4pc from the prior year and down by 3.4pc from October. In Apr-Nov period, finished steel imports declined by 46.9pc to 2.697mn mt from a year ago, as domestic consumption declined largely due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Amid higher exports than imports, India continues to be net exporter of steel in November and Apr-Nov period.
Crude steel production in November improved by 2.7pc to 9.170mn mt from the prior year and hot metal production grew by 5.2pc to 6.179mn mt. Finished steel production fell by 1.4pc from the prior year and rose by 1.2pc from October. Pig iron production dropped by 12pc amid a shortage of iron ore in the domestic market.
| India’s steel production in November (mn mt) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production | Nov ’20 | Nov ’19 | Change YoY | Change MoM | Apr-Nov ’20 | Apr-Nov ’19 | Change YoY |
| Crude steel | 9.170 | 8.933 | 2.7% | 1.2% | 62.014 | 72.914 | -14.9% |
| Hot metal | 6.179 | 5.876 | 5.2% | -1.2% | 42.596 | 48.395 | -12.0% |
| Finished steel | 8.451 | 8.574 | -1.4% | 1.2% | 55.681 | 68.518 | -18.7% |
| Pig iron | 0.415 | 0.472 | -12.1% | 4.5% | 2.845 | 3.888 | -26.8% |