India’s finished steel exports dropped by 19.5pc to 617,000mt in December 2020 from 766,000mt in the prior-year period, while consumption rose by 5.7pc to 9.14mn mt, according to preliminary official data. Domestic steel demand has picked-up, backed by improvement in construction activities, infrastructure projects and demand from auto manufacturers.
In the April-December period, the finished steel exports rose by 27.5pc to 8.31mn mt, compared to 6.51mn mt in the prior-year period as the mills focused to export billets at less remunerative prices to liquidate the existing inventory and keep their mills running during the pandemic. The consumption in the period declined by 16.8pc to 63.4mn mt from 76.2mn mt a year ago.
Imports of finished steel grew by 17.1pc to 512,000mt in Dec 2020 from 437,000mt in the prior year period. The consumption also witnessed an uptick of 5.7pc to 9.14mt from 8.65mt in the prior year.
India’s crude steel production remained flat at 9.38mn mt in Dec, compared to the prior year, while the output rose by 1.5pc from November. Hot metal production and Pig iron production rose by 2pc and 3.9pc, respectively, in December, compared to the prior year period.
India’s steel production Dec 2020 (mt)
| Production | Dec-20 | Dec-19 | Y-o-Y Change | M-o-M Change |
| Crude Steel | 9,384,000 | 9,383,000 | 0 | 1.5pc |
| Hot Metal | 6,406,000 | 6,282,000 | 2.0pc | 2.0pc |
| Finished Steel | 8,834,000 | 9,223,000 | -4.2pc | 3.4pc |
| Pig iron | 445,000 | 429,000 | 3.9pc | 4.8pc |
April-December production
In April-December, the crude steel production declined by 12.6pc to 71.9mn mt from the prior year period amid COVID-19 related impacts. The finished steel output dropped by 15.8pc `to 65.44mn mt from 77.74mn mt a year ago. Pig iron and hot metal production slipped by 21.6pc and 10.1pc, respectively. The imports declined by 41.8pc to 3.209mn mt in 2020, compared to same period 2019.