Indian state-owned steelmaker Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited’s (RINL) saleable steel production in Q1 (Apr-June) of FY22 surged by 98pc to 1,237,000mt from the prior-year period, according to the company tweet.
The baseline figure of steel production, however, was low since the Indian government had imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 25, 2020, for 21 days, which was further extended to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the period, domestic steel mills had reduced production amid weak demand.
The company’s total saleable steel sales were up by 54pc to 1,043,000mt in Q1. Of the total, domestic sales surged by 102pc to 743,000mt, while the rest 300,000mt was exported.
Early this month, RINL reduced its rebar prices by Rs1,500/mt, structural products by Rs500/mt, and other long products by Rs1,000/mt.
RINL’s daily hot metal production from three blast furnaces is marginally lower at 17,200mt due to maintenance shut down compared to the previous month, which was at 17,500mt on average. Each blast furnace has a capacity of 2.5mn mt at the Visakhapatnam plant.