Rally in Indian Rupee and declining international prices caused a complete reversal of fortunes for Indian mills. Nearly 6% appreciation in INR over the last 3 weeks has dealt blow to the export competitiveness of Indian mills.

In radical shift from December wherein Indian mills had been basking with insulation of severely browbeaten INR. Immense security had prompted them to hike prices in the domestic market over the last couple months by almost INR 1500 per tonne in HRC prices despite slow abject demand.

Return of confidence in Indian Rupee pulled the rug from the Indian flat product manufacturers. The import parity heavily at odds with the domestic levels February might be the penultimate month of frolic.

In per tonne

1 USD = INR 49.20

(Source: www.steelprices-india.com)

Domestic HRC retail levels at INR 37900 per tonne (excl ED and VAT) at Mumbai there is yawning gap of INR 4200 per tonne. Reportedly import bookings have commenced and with the first consignment likely to arrive by early April the era of price hike will be history soon.

If volatility in steel prices is affecting your business, keep tab on market realities and trends by subscribing to www.steelprices-india.com, which is a comprehensive portal that provides domestic pricing information for benchmark steel products in each category at select location in India on a regular basis 5 days a week and international price levels on a weekly basis.

Products covered
1. Input materials - Iron ore, scrap, sponge iron, pig iron pencil ingot, billets and blooms
2. Long products - Rebar, wire rod, angle, channel and joists
3. Flat products - Narrow plates, wide plates, HR, CR and galvanized
4. Others - Pipes

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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

The days of frolic for Indian long product manufacturers might be on the wane. Declining international prices by about USD 40 per tonne to USD 50 per tonne for billets, re-bars and WRC has led to emergence of import propensity after gap of nearly a year.

Long product market had remained out of bounds for the Black Sea and Chinese mills during the interlude domestic levels remaining low. However with the declining export levels from Black Sea, Turkey and China has led to emergence of import threat. Domestic levels at INR 38900 per tonne (excl ED + Vat) the parity is tilted in favour of import with a gap of INR 2500 per tonne. However taking into account the import hassles parity upto INR 1500 per tonne is not enticing but add on leverage of INR 1000 per tonne would be enticing.

With the export levels poised for further decline as Chinese domestic levels remains subdued putting onus on export the days of import hitting Indian shores is in vicinity.

In per tonne

1 USD = INR 49.20

(Source: www.steelprices-india.com)

If volatility in steel prices is affecting your business, keep tab on market realities and trends by subscribing to www.steelprices-india.com, which is a comprehensive portal that provides domestic pricing information for benchmark steel products in each category at select location in India on a regular basis 5 days a week and international price levels on a weekly basis.

Products covered
1. Input materials - Iron ore, scrap, sponge iron, pig iron pencil ingot, billets and blooms
2. Long products - Rebar, wire rod, angle, channel and joists
3. Flat products - Narrow plates, wide plates, HR, CR and galvanized
4. Others - Pipes

How to subscribe
1. Register at www.steelprices-india.com and pay on line or ask for invoice
2. Send mail to admin@steelprices-india.com.
3. Call at 0091-124-3007891/2/3

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

More than 250 participants from about 150 companies have confirmed to be at first ever Steel Scrap Summit on February 9th 2012 at The Palms in Gurgaon. In addition, more than 100 have confirmed participation for complimentary “Buyer Seller Interaction” in the first half of Feb 10th”

Aadi Imports Pvt Ltd
Abbeline Impex
Action Ispat & Power Pvt Ltd
Akjay Marketing Pvt Ltd
Al Jazeera Steel Products
Alamdaar Trading
All India Induction Furnaces Association
All India Steel Rerollers Association
Alok Ingots (Mumbai) Pvt Ltd
Argentum Fashions Pvt Ltd
Asha Expo & Co Ltd
Asha OreMin India Pvt Ltd
Ashram Metals & Alloys
Astar Exim Traders
Avtaar Management Solutions Pvt Ltd
Bansal alloys & Metals Pvt Ltd
Bhagyalaxmi Rolling Mill Pvt Ltd
Bhavnagar Re-rolling Mill Association
BHP Billiton
Bhushan Steels
BRG Iron & Steel Co Pvt Ltd
Britonc
Bruker AXS Analytical Instruments Pvt Ltd
Buoysail TR EST
Cellpap India Private Limited
Chetna Alloys Pvt Ltd
Chhattisgarh Mini Steel Plant Association
Concast Exim Limited
CS Casting Pvt Ltd
Darcl Logistics
Dhanlaxmi Iron Industries Ltd
East India Holdings Pvt Ltd
Economic Research Unit- Ministry of Steel
Electrotherm (India) Limited
EMR Limited
EuroTrade
Finance and Business Solutions
Global Connect
Gravita India Limited
Grayweed Consultants Pvt Ltd
Grenature Steelmaker
Guardian Castings Pvt Ltd
Gujrat Re-Rolling Mill Association
Gurudev Group of Companies
Hazel Metal & Minerals P Ltd
Heena Metal Pvt Ltd
Imagecraftz
Imran Steel
IndiaMart
Indian Institute of Metals
Indian Metal Corporation
Indo Engineers
International Commerce Ltd
Iron Steel Scrap & Shipbreakers Association Of India
Itochu Metals Corporation, Japan
Jindal Saw Ltd
Jindal Steel Ltd
Joint Plant Committee
JSW Ispat
Jubilee Group
Kamdhenu Ispat Limited
Karkun Inc
Kaypee Metals & Alloys Pvt Ltd
Kibar Dis Ticaret
Kisan Ramchandra Auctioneers Pvt Ltd
Kliss Trading Pvt Ltd
Kuusakoski oy
Leela Steel Trading Corporation
Liberty Commodity Ltd- UK
Liebehrr India Pvt Ltd
MacSteel International
Maersk Line
Mahalaxmi Trading Co
Mahindra Ugine Steel Co Ltd
Mandi Gobindgarh
Manglam Traders
Maruti Suzuki India Limited
Matex Net Pvt Ltd
Megatherm Electronics
Menon and Menon Ltd
Mercury Sales Corporation
Meta Rolls And Commodities Pvt Ltd
Metal Recycling Association of India
Metal Scrap Recycling (Mumbai) Pvt Ltd
Midas International
Ministry of Steel
Mitsubishi Corporation Delhi
Mjunction Services Limited
MS Agarwal Foundries Pvt Ltd
MS Steel International
MSN IMPEX
MTC Business Pvt Ltd
Mukesh Steels Ltd
National Institute of Secondary Steel Technology
National Steel
New World Import/ Export
Nihon Ispat Pvt Ltd
Omkaar Traders
Onesteel Recycling Pty Ltd
Pamski Projects Pvt Ltd
Prime Star Energy FZE
RadComm Radiation Detection Systems
Radial Europe Ltd
Radiation Measurement & Security Instruments
Radiological Safety Division
RAG Exports Pvt Ltd
Rajdhani Iron Products Private Limited
Ramane Intertrade Pvt Ltd
Reby Castings Pvt Ltd
Recycle In Me
Recycle Trade India Pvt Ltd
RKG International Pvt Ltd
RMPL Global Resource Co Ltd
Salva Resources Private Limited
Samay Alloys (I) Pvt Ltd
Shabro Metals & Technologies Ltd
Shree Jagdambay Casting Pvt Ltd
Shri Balaji Rollings Pvt Ltd
Shri Siddhivinayak Induction Pvt Ltd
Shri Ulaganayagi Amman Steels
Solo Metals Pvt Ltd
South Asia- Portable Analytical Instruments
Span Overseas Ltd
Sponge Sales (India) Pvt Ltd
St John Freight Systems Ltd
Standard Chartered
Steel Furnace Association of India
Steel Town
Stemcor India Pvt Ltd
Synergy Steels Limited
Tarun Alloys Ltd
TATA Steel
The Steeltrad India Pvt Ltd
The Venkateswar Steel Traders
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Topworth Group of Companies
TradeIndia
Trafigura India Pvt Ltd
Transales
Transales FZE, Minerals and Metals Resources
UNDP GEF Steel Project, Ministry of Steel
Unit Trading & Services
Uttam Galva Steels Ltd
Valfor Trading Ltd
Vardhman Special Steels Ltd
Vijay Iron Foundary Pvt Ltd
Vikas Projects Pvt Ltd
Virtus Exports & Imports LLC
Vishwakarma Industries
Ward Recycling

Participants can seek help from, if required
Ms Abhilasha at +9810771293
Ms Iha Jain at +9582080801
Mr Varun Sharma at +9582080802

With the ever increasing use of internet for dissemination of information, every company’s website is becoming one of most important medium, with almost zero cost, to make announcements, solicit new clients and promote products.

Company websites, which are virtual show cases, are generally designed with great zeal and efforts but do not serve the full purpose as they lack viewers. In fact they are visited mostly by only those who are specifically referred thus limiting the reach severely.

We would like to inform you of a unique opportunity to reach global steel industry and allied sectors through our platform www.steelguru.com, which is the most popular and visited English based steel portal globally with average daily page hits of 150,000+ per day. You may like to check our ranking using www.alexa.com, where it can be compared with other web sites.

We can put your advert on www.steelguru.com through an image, hyper linked to your website. This could increase the traffic to your web site and help you leverage it to your advantage.

Please send a mail to adverts@steelguru.com and we would be happy to answer your queries if any. You can also contact us at +91 124 4048993 or +91 - 9871193457

Unable to get regulatory approvals for its proposed USD 30 billion investment, world's largest steel maker ArcelorMittal has for the time being put on hold its India business plans.

Mr LN Mittal said that "It is very difficult to say any thing. When will start the construction, when we will really make the progress. We are not even counting them in our business plans for the next few years.”

Noting that ArcelorMittal is still in the process of securing various regulatory approvals, Mr Mittal further said that his company is waiting for a clear picture to emerge on various government policy initiatives like new mining bill.

He said that "New bills are coming in Parliament. There is a new policy for coal allocation. So, we are really watching the various developments and rules and regulations (that are) coming in. Then only we will have the visibility about the projects in India.”

The world's largest steelmaker has plans to build 2 mega steel plants of 12 million tonnes each in Jharkhand and Odisha and one 6 million tonnne plant in Karnataka at a total estimated investment of INR 1,30,000 crore (USD 30 billion).

(Sourced from ET)

The Indian Long Product Price Index ILPPI declined by 4 points on February 7th 2012, where as Indian Flat Product Price Index IFPPI remained stable. The overall Indian Steel Price Index INDSPI went down by 2 points.

ILPPI - Long Product Price Index
IFPPI - Flat Product Price Index
INDSPI - Indian Steel Price Index

Long Products

PI - Product Index

Flat Products

PI - Product Index

These indices have base of 10,000 as on July 1st 2008

To know more about these indices please visit
http://steelprices-india.com/spi_services/spi.html

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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

PTI and BL reported that Steel Authority of India has jacked up prices of long products by INR 2,000 per tonne to INR 3,000 a tonne with effect from February 1.

As per PTI report “SAIL has increased the price of TMT bars by INR 2,500 per tonne to INR 40,000 a tonne. The price of angles has also been raised by 3,000 per tonne to INR 37,500 a tonne. At the same time, channels now cost INR 37,500 per tonne from 35,000 a tonne earlier.”

SAIL, however, kept the price unchanged for hot rolled and cold rolled coils. There is no rise for the galvanised sheets as well.

However, SAIL officials clarified to BL that the selling prices for end users in February remain unchanged.

Mr CS Verma chairman of SAIL told Business Line that “The demand is picking up and it is going to be a brisk quarter. The current quarter also happens to be the last quarter of the terminal year of the 11th 5 Year Plan. As a result, there is a rush to meet targets on various government projects, thereby triggering an increased demand.”

As per BL, SAIL had increased the prices of its entire range of products by INR 1,000 a tonne in January, the second such increase since October.

(Sourced from PTI & BL)

Sponge iron

Change is on 7th February as compared to 6th February 2012
Change is in INR per tonne

To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or send a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details Kindly note that this is a paid service.

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Calling Dhanbad district a "hotbed" of gangs indulging in illicit coal trade, the National Human Rights Commission on Monday issued notice to Jharkhand Government over economic hardships faced by tribals and "illegal mining" in the Naxal affected area.

The Commission said that "abject poverty" was the reason behind spread of Naxalism in the region.

Regarding mining, the NHRC said that gangs were recruiting local tribals to illegally mine coal and pointed out the inadequate response to the threat posed by underground coal fires in the region. It also shared other findings made by its team about the ground situation prevailing in Dhanbad.

NHRC in a press statement said that "Gangs recruit tribals to illegally mine coal for them and carry it to distant collection points. While going from Ranchi to Dhanbad, one could see beeline of cycles, carrying coal, up steep gradients.”

The statement "In the process of illegal mining many people are killed, but matters are not reported under the influence of the gangsters and due to the economic compulsions faced by the tribals.”

The Commission also observed that no action had been taken to either control the coal mafia or bring the illegal trade in the ambit of legal procurement.

Through the notice issued to the state's Chief Secretary, the NHRC has now asked for a detailed report on economic hardships to tribals, illegal coal mining and trading leading to killing of many locals who are virtually living in sub human existence.

(Sourced from Zeenews.com)

Pencil ingot

Change is on 7th February as compared to 6th February 2012
Change is in INR per tonne

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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Mr Buddhika Piyasena senior director overseeing Asia-Pacific energy and utilities ratings team Fitch Ratings said that India urgently needs to undertake reforms in the power sector in 2012 else the sector will plunge deeper into a crisis.

Mr Piyasena, said that "The year 2012 is crucial as we have come to such a situation when we cannot delay the reforms any more.”

He said that "Some of the unpopular things that you have to do cannot be done closer to the elections time which is just a couple of years away. So you either do it this year, or you take a high political risk if you try to do something of a bigger magnitude closer to the elections referring to impending reforms relating to increase in power tariff.”

The poor financial health of state electricity distribution companies (discoms) has spiraled into a bigger problem as delayed payments from these agencies has hurt the entire value chain in the power sector. Low recoveries, primarily from agricultural sector, has dried liquidity of these discoms which have been forced to resort to short term loans and overdrafts to stay afloat. But the mounting debt of these loss making discoms has made financial lenders jittery about extending more loans.

According to a Fitch Ratings study, the aggregate cash loss of discoms in FY10 was 34,800 crore, more than four times the loss of 8,200 crore reported in FY07. Discoms in five states Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan account for almost 86% of these losses. These discoms in the five states had a negative net worth of 55,900 crore and aggregate loans from financial institutions and banks and bonds totalling 58,800 crore as on end-FY10.

Mr Piyasena said that "It is a crisis situation, nothing short of that. Just to break even, different utilities would require tariff hike 30 to 150%. Financial institutions could be catalysts in some of these changes."

Fitch said that A curtailment of fresh loans by banks and financial institutions to discoms could trigger defaults by the latter, leading to rating downgrades.

However, Mr Piyasena highlights that the government may need to take a more broad based approach to resolving the problems faced by the sector. He said that "Whatever they (the government) do needs to be sustainable. You can take the bitter medicine by hiking tariff and things would be fine for a short while but what you can't forget is that the costs keep rising. You also need to fix the cost side."

(Sourced from ET)

Minister for Industries and Commerce, Mr SS Slathia said the government will sympathetically consider the demands of coal mine workers in view of the tough nature of their job.

He asked the management of Jammu & Kashmir Minerals Ltd to come up with a workable and financially viable action plan to meet the genuine demands of the workers and employees.

Chairing a meeting of Board of Directors, JKML, Mr Slathia, according to an official statement, constituted a high level committee comprising Commissioner/Secretary, Industries and Commerce, Special Secretary, Finance, Managing Director, JKML and representative from the Law Department.

The committee will examine all the demands of the coal mine workers and employees adding that recommendations and suggestions of the committee shall be deliberated in a Special Board Meeting of the corporation shortly.

Mr Slathia said that “We shall have to take a humanitarian view of the demands and problems of Coal Mine Workers in view of their tough job as compared to other PSUs.”

The Minister asked the management to formulate target oriented and production linked business plan to ensure a sound economic base for sustained growth of the organization.

He also called for introducing Voluntary Retirement Scheme in a big way to minimize wage bill of the corporation.

He directed for increasing coal and gypsum production which has a vast market, adding that production should be the bench mark of the Corporation’s business plan.

He said there is a potential of 3500 tonne of coal and 100,000 tonne gypsum production which needs to be exploited in the next year adding that the Corporation should reactivate its men and machinery to achieve this target.

(Sourced from www.greaterkashmir.com)

Melting scrap
80:20
HMS

Change is on 7th February as compared to 6th February 2012
Change is in INR per tonne

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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Signs of life from the Bangladeshi market were on display this week as end buyers returned to the bidding tables and existing cash buyer tonnage arrived local anchorage awaiting beaching.

Whilst still a fraction behind what India and Pakistan are there to pay, the gap in prices had started to narrow as the week ended. Accelerating the narrowing gap was the fact that Indian buyers themselves had started to reverse their prices (albeit it gradually), owing to the number of vessels that had started flooding into the market.

Several handles, the CEBU STAR (9,759 LDT) and KS TRADER (8,109 LDT), were concluded to Chittagong buyers - where both vessels were conveniently completing discharge therefore making both prompt candidates for beaching early tide of February.

Yet to be resolved is the 5% import tax issue and local finance, both of which remain a problem for a Bangladeshi recycling market that remains desperately short of US Dollars. Incoming owners will have to realize that it will take some time for import formalities to be completed and funds to be released, in a market that is still finding its feet after the recent opening.

(Sourced from GMS Weekly)

The final report of the Central Empowered Committee on illegal mining has many points that would cheer up environmentalists and non government organisations.

The CEC, in its report submitted to the Supreme Court last weekend, has recommended deletion of reference to the Western Ghats in the earlier report submitted by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education.

The ICFRE in its report submitted in November had indirectly suggested that the mining of iron ore in the Western Ghats may be permitted. ICFRE in its report said that “There is a need to commission a feasibility study to bring in superior underground mining technology which is more environment-friendly in the Western Ghats to extract 10 billion tonnes of Magnetite ore available in the country. Of this, 8 billion tonnes are in Karnataka.”

Dharwad based NGO Samaja Parivartana Samudaya had questioned the ICFRE suggestion and urged the apex court and CEC to drop references to it. The Supreme Court appointed Central Empowered Committee in its report submitted to the Apex court on February 3 rejected the suggestion by noting that ICFRE is totally out of context and beyond its terms of reference.

ICFRE had said in its report that “Internationally, technologies are available and they should be used and if required, modified or adapted to suit the local conditions with suitable inputs from the Indian School of Mines or Indian Institutes of Technology.”

After considering the Western Ghats as one of the identified biodiversity hotspots in the world wherein mining operations are presently not permitted, the observation is totally out of context, said the report submitted by Mr MK Jiwrajka member secretary, CEC.

The CEC in its report said that “It would be appropriate that the observations of the ICFRE should be treated as “deleted” from the EIA-Study report to avoid any possibility in the future of opening of mining operation in the areas falling in the ecologically sensitive and fragile Western Ghats.”

Referring to the other recommendations of ICFRE such as constitution of state level committee to oversee the performance of the district level task force, research for mine rehabilitation and wild life conservation, the CEC has recommended that they need to be incorporated in the individual mining plans. The ICFRE, which is entrusted with the task of preparing mine wise R&R plan by the Karnataka government, may be asked to prepare the supplementary environmental safeguards plan for incorporating the additional environmental safeguards in the approved mining plant in respect of the leases not found to be involved in illegal mining.

The report said that SESP prepared by the ICFRE with appropriate modification if any, should be considered as a part of the approved mining plan and should be binding on the lease holders.

(Sourced from BS)

As part of its efforts to bring in greater transparency and accountability in mineral raising and transport business, the steel & mines department of Orissa has urged the Union mines ministry to integrate the state's online monitoring system with that of Indian Bureau of Mines.

A top official source said that “Our online monitoring system captures the entire data related to mining activities including the quantum of ore raised as well as sales and despatch figures. Integrating our online system with that of IBM will enable the Central investigative agency to record this data for use. Integrating systems of the steel and mines department and IBM will also prevent any possible mismatch and duplication of data.”

The official informed that almost all the stakeholders including mine lessees, traders, stockists and end users involved in mine extraction and transport business have got themselves registered with the IBM.

Earlier, the steel & mines department had asked IBM to furnish list of mine owners, traders, stockists, exporters and end-users who have registered themselves with the Central government agency. The department had stated that many stakeholders were yet to apply for registration with IBM which is mandatory under the amended Rule-45 of Mineral Conservation and Development Rules-1988 notified by the Union mines ministry.

As per the amended Rule-45 of Mineral Conservation and Development Rules 1988 which have been notified in the Gazette of India on February 9, 2011, it is mandatory for owner, agent, mining engineer or manager of every mine or any person or company engaged in trading or storage or end-use or export of minerals to apply for registration number online and get themselves registered with IBM. It is also necessary to quote the registration number in all types of transactions related with minerals, beginning from producers to end-users. The steel & mines department had threatened not to issue e-permits to unregistered users.

Meanwhile, issue of e-permits has started with 4 to 5 mine lessees being issued such permits in the Joda mining circle in Keonjhar district. Other lessees in the Joda circle are expected to be given e-permits soon and the system will be subsequently extended to other mining circles.

(Sourced from BS)

TMT
Fe 415
12mm

Change is on 7th February as compared to 6th February 2012
Change is in INR per tonne

To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or send a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details Kindly note that this is a paid service.

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

The pre budget surge in India showed few signs of slowing with another busv week of purchases recorded. Some fiercer competition from both Bangladesh and Pakistan meant local buyers did not have it all, their wav. Yet FOUR market vessels found their wav to Indian end buyers.

Of all of those, perhaps it was the full spares bulker MARIA K (7,6S4 LDT) that raised the most eyebrows - taking home an astonishing USD 545/LT LDT owing to the min 450 T bunkers upon arrival Alang.

UASC too continued their clear out of older tonnage bv selling their THIRD unit in as many weeks at the strongest price yet. The AL MANAKH (12,SSS LDT) achieved a very firm USD 519/LT LDT 'as is' Khor Fakkan with sufficient fuel for the voyage over as the Indian love affair for containers continues.

However, all isn't golden for the local recvcling scene.

Whilst key fundamentals (including the currency) staved in good shape, local steel plate price increases did not mirror the rapidly escalating positions being taken on some of the units bv Cash Buyers. Bidding has essentially jumped USD 10/LT LDT AHEAD of the market in the hope of price rises for pre-budget purchases, which seems like a chase for fool's Gold.

As increasingly higher prices were being demanded from Cash Buyers for tonnage on offer, local recyclers started getting cold feet. Moreover, as the glut of available tonnage made its presence known, Alang recyclers started holding back on firming up.

Consequently, signs of retreat did emerge towards the end of the week. With so many high priced deals concluded with owners, vet unsold into the local markets, the coming weeks mav prove tricky for owners and cash buyers alike.

(Sourced from GMS Weekly)

NMDC Limited, a Navratna public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Steel is primarily engaged in the business of exploring minerals and developing mines to produce raw materials. It is also expanding its activities towards steel making and other value added products.

NMDC plans to expand its business through horizontal integration as well in the fields of Coal, Rock Phosphate, Lime Stone, Gold and Diamond. The company has already diversified its activities in the field of renewable energy by setting up Wind mills in Karnataka and is exploring the possibilities in solar energy.

In order to acquire more mineral resources globally, the company has launched NMDC Global, which has actively examined number of proposals in Africa, Australia, Europe and South America within one year of its formation.

NMDC has recently acquired 50% equity stake in Perth based Australian iron ore, gold and base metals exploration company, Legacy Iron Ore Limited for a consideration of AUD 18.89 million with intent of furthering its strategic interests in the natural resources sector globally. Legacy is primarily an iron ore exploration company that is based in Western Australia, and is developing the Mt Bevan Iron Ore Project, which has the potential to develop into one of the largest resources of iron ore in the Central Yilgarn region in Western Australia.

NMDC is actively pursuing the acquisition of overseas strategic mineral assets with the objective of meeting its own requirements and also towards raw material security for the country’s steel and fertilizer industries. After successful acquisition of Legacy NMDC is trying for more acquisitions in Brazil, Mozambique, Russia, USA and South Africa.

In Brazil, an iron ore asset very close to port with reserves more than 1 billion has been identified for acquisition in Russia and in Mozambique NMDC has identified coking coal assets. These assets have more than 50 million tonne and 150 million tonne respectively. In Australia, the company is planning to use Legacy for further acquisition. The rock phosphate asset is now under due diligence process. NMDC is in talks with few companies and their projects are being evaluated by the internal team and is also in the process of appointing consultants for their comprehensive due diligence.

NMDC Limited achieved commendable performance for the quarter ended December 31st 2011. These are the best results for the 3rd quarter financial results since inception. The company is improving the evacuation capacity in Bailadila sector and expedited the construction of the only green field steel plant under construction in India. In September 2011, when Central Empowered Committee banned mining in this sector and permitted two mines of NMDC to continue operation because of the environmental protection measures being taken up by NMDC. It was also asked to scale up the production upto 1 MT in a month which NMDC could achieve resulting in making available scarce resource to the steel industries of Karnataka.

NMDC is planning to set up 10 million tonne per annum pipe line for evacuation of iron ore from Bailadila Sector to Visakhapatnam with a loop line of 2 MTPA capacity at Nagarnar to cater steel plant. This pipe line would help in increasing for production of iron ore and supply to domestic customers like RINL and Essar Steel. NMDC’s vertical integration with Steel production is not ending with only one steel plant in Nagarnar. The land for the NMDC’s Greenfield 3 million tonne per annum Integrated Steel Plant was acquired in a record time of 10 months and 5 major packages of the steel plant have already been awarded to internationally acclaimed companies. The company is taking up the proposal of steel plant in Karnataka with Severstal, the largest steel producer in Russia. Domestically, the company is in discussion with TATA Steel for a Steel plant in Chhattisgarh which has land and mine.

NMDC has been pursuing all its expansion programs and NMDC as part of its forward integration program and value addition is setting up a 3 MTPA steel plant at Nagarnar in Chhattisgarh, for which the land acquisition has been completed in August 2010 and major packages are being finalized and awarded at a cost of around INR 6,500 crore.

NMDC is having strong fundamentals to sustain the market dynamics with its strong Corporate Social Responsibility policy. From its inception, NMDC has embarked upon a holistic journey of undertaking developmental activities in the remote tribal villages surrounding its operating units in Bailadila, Bastar region, Chhattisgarh. Popularly known as Peripheral Development, the focus areas have been Education, Healthcare, Drinking Water and Infrastructure mainly in Bastar region in Chhattisgarh and Donimalai in Karnataka and Panna in Madhya Pradesh. NMDC has put in place a very comprehensive stake holder consultation process to include all its stakeholders into the process of its CSR. The good work being done by NMDC on the CSR front over the years has been recognized by the Department of Public Enterprises and has recommended to all the CPSEs to emulate the NMDC model of CSR.

JSTI
GR A
250X125

Change is on 7th February as compared to 6th February 2012
Change is in INR per tonne

To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or send a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details Kindly note that this is a paid service.

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

The total approximate earnings of Indian Railways on originating basis during April 1st 2011 to January 31st 2012 were INR 84155.40 crore compared to INR 76223.07 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 10.41%

The total goods earnings have gone up from INR 50916.21 crore during April 1st2010 to January 31st 2011 to INR 56247.30 crore during April 1st 2011 to January 31st 2012, registering an increase of 10.47%

The total passenger revenue earnings during first ten months of the financial year 2011-12 were INR 23345.48 crore compared to INR 21336.88 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 9.41%

The revenue earnings from other coaching amounted to INR 2353.55 crore during April 2011 to January 2012 compared to INR 2093.62 crore during the same period last year, an increase of 12.42%

The total approximate numbers of passengers booked during April 2011 to January 2012 were 6911.69 million compared to 6577.15 million during the same period last year, showing an increase of 5.09%. In the suburban and non suburban sectors, the numbers of passengers booked during April 2011 to January 2012 were 3651.87 million and 3259.82 million compared to 3524.86 million and 3052.29 million during the same period last year, showing an increase of 3.60% and 6.80% respectively.

ACC sales grew nearly 9% to 2.23 million tonnes in January compared to the same month a year ago.

The cement manufacturer, in which Swiss major Holcim holds majority stake, had sold 2.05 million tonnes in January 2011. Its production also increased to 2.25 mt from 2.06 million tonnes.

JMT Auto Ltd has announced its financial results for the period ended December 31st 2011. The company has posted net profit of INR 37.79 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2011 as compared to INR 28.49 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2010, representing an increase of 32.64%.

The company’s total income was at INR 947.72 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2011 where as the same was at INR 770.4 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2010, representing an increase of 23.02%.

The company has posted net profit of INR 102.57 million for the 9 months period ended December 31st 2011 as compared to INR 74.34 million for the 9 months period ended December 31st 2010, representing an increase of 37.97%.

Total income was at INR 2668.19 million for the 9 months period ended December 31st 2011 where as the same was at INR 2074.00 million for the 9 months period ended December 31st 2010, representing an increase of 28.65%.

(Sourced from Equity Bulls)

Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd has announced the financial results for the quarter ended December 31st 2011.

The Company has posted a net profit of INR 595.20 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2011 as compared to INR 227.70 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2010. The company’s total Income has increased from INR 4177.00 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2010 to INR 1813.00 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2011.

The above results under review are in respect of 300 MW Jaypee Baspa II HE Plant, 400 MW Jaypee Vishnuprayag HE Plant and 1000 MW Jaypee Karcham Wangtoo HE Plant. The corresponding figures of the quarter/nine months period in the previous year are only for 300 MW Jaypee Baspa HE Plant and 400 MW Jaypee Vishnuprayag HE Plant and hence not comparable. Previous year / period figures have been regrouped / reclassified wherever necessary and are on standalone basis.

(Sourced from Equity Bulls)

Iron ore miners and consumers in Karnataka, including NMDC, the country's largest iron ore producer and JSW, India's largest private sector steelmaker, will have to grapple with higher costs and lower production if the Supreme Court accepts the recommendations of a panel set up to probe illegal mining in the state.

NMDC and JSW may have to pay a higher price for iron ore while other smaller and regional players, such as Mysore Minerals and MSPL, may lose some mines.

In a series of sweeping and unprecedented recommendations, the Central Empowered Committee has recommended the cancellation of 49 licences and proposed capping the state's annual production at 30 million tonnes. It has said even captive iron ore will be sold at market rates and called for all ore, from old mines as well as new, to be auctioned. But the silver lining for steelmakers will be the opportunity to grab leases when they are auctioned after cancellation.

JSW will henceforth have to buy ore at market rates even from the Thimmappangudi mine, in which it has 70% share. State run Mysore Minerals, which has supply arrangements with Mukand and Kalyani Steel, will lose a mine and will have to excavate the remaining five iron ore blocks on its own.

NMDC in addition to being penalised will lose 10% of its revenue towards a mining infrastructure development fund. MSPL, despite its long public crusade against illegal mining during the Reddy brothers' raj, will also lose one of its five mines.

Sesa Goa's plans to enhance capacity to 10 million tonnes per annum in Chitradurga will be curtailed as the limit for the Chitradurga/Tumkur district has been fixed at 5 million tonnes per annum.

The Supreme Court, which has accepted all of the CEC's recommendations so far, is likely to hear the matter again on Friday.

(Sourced from ET)

Driven by increase in demand from user industries, steel castings company, Steelcast reported a whopping 504.88% jump in net profit to INR 4.96 crore for the quarter ended December 31 as against INR 8.2 million in the year ago period. The net sales for the period stood at INR 64.65 crore, up 87.22% compared to INR 34.53 crore in the same period last year.

Mr Chetan Tamboli CMD in a statement said that "Our sales and profits have continued to post strong growth due to high demand in all the user industries. Strong demand from user industries in India and globally has put the company on a high growth trajectory.”

He said that the company's domestic sales and exports grew significantly adding, exports accounted for around 45% of turnover.

Steelcast caters to industries including earthmoving equipment manufacturers, mining, mineral processing equipment and cement machinery manufacturers.

The company's manufacturing capacity is around 17,000 tonne per annum and further expansion is planned in the coming years.

Mr Tamboli added that "A large expansion project is close to completion and major orders from domestic and international firms have been flowing in. We will continue to grow at a fast pace in the coming few quarters too.”

(Sourced from www.financialexpress.com)

Hubli based transport major VRL Logistics Ltd has firmed up plans to sell its wind power and cement business units and concentrate on its core business. The company, which operates India’s largest fleet of trucks, is re-entering the media business with a new Kannada newspaper in the pipeline.

Mr Vijay Sankeshwar chairman of VRL Logistics said that “Wind power is not our core business area. We are not happy with the way the state government treats private producers. The utilities are not making timely payment for the power we produce and there are two to three months of outstanding dues always. We are in advanced talks with a few buyers to exit the wind power business shortly.”

He said the company has an outstanding payment of INR 78 crore from the Hubli Electricity Supply Company (Hescom) and an overdue interest payment is to the order of INR 3 crore. He added that “Compared to a few months ago, the Hescom has improved in its payments. But, every month, they default in their payments and we cannot continue to work on borrowed funds.”

The company has entered into a power purchase agreement with Hescom and sells power at INR 3.50 per unit.

In 2007, the company had forayed into wind power business and presently operates an installed capacity of 51 Mw from 34 wind turbines (each 1.5 Mw) at Kappat Gudda in Gadag district at an estimated cost of INR 230 crore. The company had been looking at exiting the business since 2009 and has received two to three proposals.

The wind farm has approvals to increase power generation capacity upto 100 Mw whenever required. Suzlon Energy, which supplied the turbines and other equipment for the farm, has been in charge of operation and maintenance of the plant’s 34 wind turbines. Sankeshwar’s family owns 100 per cent equity in the company.

Apart from the wind power business, the VRL Group is also exiting its proposed cement business. It had formed a separate company, VRL Cements Ltd with his son Anand Sankeshwar and other family members. The company had signed a memorandum of understanding with Karnataka government during the global investors’ meet in June 2010 to set up a 2 million tonne per annum cement plant at an investment of INR 954 crore.

Mr Sankeshwar said that “We have dropped our plan of entering the cement business as it requires huge investment. Acquiring land is a big issue in Karnataka and getting power and water from the government is not easy. The state government told us to acquire land on our own for the project and we found it difficult in the present circumstances. So, we are looking for buyers to sell off VRL Cements Ltd.”

(Sourced from BS)

Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd has announced its Financial Results for the period ended December 31st 2011. The company has posted net profit / (loss) of (INR 634.1) million for the quarter ended December 31st 2011 as compared to INR 1549.4 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2010.

Total income was at INR 111508.5 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2011 where as the same was at INR 83476.1 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2010, representing an increase of 33.58%.

The company has posted net profit / (loss) of (INR 453.5) million for the 9 months period ended December 31st 2011 as compared to Rs.1974.1 million for the 9 months period ended December 31st 2010.

Total income was at INR 304692.4 million for the 9 months period ended December 31st 2011 where as the same was at INR 227974.8 million for the 9 months period ended December 31st 2010, representing an increase of 33.65%.

(Sourced from Equity Bulls)

Bajaj Electricals Ltd has announced its financial results for the period ended December 31st 2011. The company has posted net profit of INR 328.4 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2011 as compared to Rs.405.9 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2010, representing a decrease of 19.09%.

The company total income was at INR 7936.4 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2011 where as the same was at INR 6895.7 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2010, representing an increase of 15.09%.

The company has posted net profit of INR 688.9 million for the 9 months period ended December 31st 2011 as compared to INR 863.3 million for the 9 months period ended December 31st 2010, representing a decrease of 20.20%.

Total income was at INR 20388.0 million for the 9 months period ended December 31, 2011 where as the same was at INR 17614.8 million for the 9 months period ended December 31st 2010, representing an increase of 15.74%.

(Sourced from Equity Bulls)

As part of its commitment to flora and fauna conservation, TATA Power India’s largest Integrated Private Power Company has created ecological hotspots around its three hydro stations in Raigad. These hotspots for more than four decades have played a significant role in driving environmental awareness and interest among the nature lovers, especially from urban areas.

The Company’s ecological garden at Walwhan Lonavla, has beautiful blooms which compete in various flower shows organized in and around Mumbai. Recently at the 53rd Mumbai Rose Show jointly organized by the Mumbai Rose society and the Maharashtra Nature Park, TATA Power’s blooms bagged 20 prizes. The Company participated in various sections of cut flowers such as colours, fragrance, shape of the flower, flower arrangements and other categories.

The queen of the show award which is awarded to the 2nd best flower in the entire competition was also won by Tata Power.

Held at Maharashtra Nature Park, the show was inaugurated by the Managing Director, RCF, Mr RG Rajan. Several prestigious organizations like Godrej, RCF, along with major nursery growers across the country also participated in the competition. Experts from the field of Roses were the judges for the competition.

Speaking on the Awards, Mr Mahesh Paranjpe head of hydros said that “We are very happy to win so many awards and are proud of our team of gardeners at Mulshi and Walwhan. Our flora conservation efforts are a benchmark in the country and we are committed to this cause. The Company has always tried to motivate youngsters and create a platform for showcasing their talents.”

Change is on 7th February as compared to 6th February 2012
Change is in INR per tonne

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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Pig iron
Foundry Grade

Change is on 7th February as compared to 6th February 2012
Change is in INR per tonne

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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

WRC
SWR14
5.5/6

Change is on 7th February as compared to 6th February 2012
Change is in INR per tonne

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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

ANGL
GR A
65X6

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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

CHNL
GR A
75/100

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Change is in INR per tonne

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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Patra

Change is on 7th February as compared to 6th February 2012
Change is in INR per tonne

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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

HRC
Tube
2.5x1250

Change is on 7th February as compared to 6th February 2012
Change is in INR per tonne

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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

PLTS
GR A
8x1250

Change is on 7th February as compared to 6th February 2012
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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

PLTS
GR B
12-20x2.5

Change is on 7th February as compared to 6th February 2012
Change is in INR per tonne

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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

CR
DSK
0.63

Change is on 7th February as compared to 6th February 2012
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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

GP
100Gms
0.40

Change is on 7th February as compared to 6th February 2012
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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

GC
100Gms
0.40

Change is on 7th February as compared to 6th February 2012
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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

The Norwegian Minister for Environment and International Cooperation, Mr Erik Solheim called on the union minister of new and renewable energy, Dr Farooq Abdullah in New Delhi.

Both the Ministers were accompanied by high level delegations. During the talks Dr Abdullah said that the Indian Government is taking active interest in setting up the proposed fund in collaboration with DFID, UK and Norway for promoting off-grid solutions in the field of renewable energy.

Highlighting the achievements made by India in the area of solar and wind energy Dr Abdullah said that the renewable energy can substantially reduce consumption of kerosene and diesel. The Indian side expressed interest in collaborating with Norway in the field of off shore wind energy. Norwegian side while welcoming this invited a team from India to study the floating barrage wind farms in Norway.