Financial Express reported that Tata Steel CEO and managing director Mr TV Narendran told Financial Express’s Ms Shubhra Tandon in an interview that the growth momentum should sustain as demand fundamentals remain strong across automotive, construction and infrastructure segments, while commodity prices will remain at elevated levels for sometime. He told “We had given a guidance of INR 3,500 per tonne drop in prices from the December quarter but eventually we ended up with about INR 1,500 drop. So, the steel prices were better than we had anticipated in Q4 compared to Q3. In Europe, the big difference was that we got our new contracts in auto and other segments which were negotiated in November-December, so the revenues were on the higher side. As far as first quarter of this year is concerned, we expect in India the prices to be INR 8,000-8,500 per tonne higher than fourth quarter which will cover the cost increases that we are facing due to high coal prices, and similarly in Europe it will be higher by EUR 60 per tonne than in Q4.”He also said “If people think coal and steel prices to go back to where they were 5-10 years back, that will not happen. So, it will settle at a much higher level and continue to be volatile. We have seen coking coal prices at USD 50 around 15 years back. You will never see that and then we thought USD 100-150 was the new normal, and then started getting used to USD 300. At one point, USD 400 was thought to be the highest ever. So, I think we should get used to a higher level than we have been used to in the past. Very few people are investing in coal, but demand continues to grow as steel production increases and that is an issue as well. I expect the prices to stay at higher levels for sometime.”
Financial Express reported that Tata Steel CEO and managing director Mr TV Narendran told Financial Express’s Ms Shubhra Tandon in an interview that the growth momentum should sustain as demand fundamentals remain strong across automotive, construction and infrastructure segments, while commodity prices will remain at elevated levels for sometime. He told “We had given a guidance of INR 3,500 per tonne drop in prices from the December quarter but eventually we ended up with about INR 1,500 drop. So, the steel prices were better than we had anticipated in Q4 compared to Q3. In Europe, the big difference was that we got our new contracts in auto and other segments which were negotiated in November-December, so the revenues were on the higher side. As far as first quarter of this year is concerned, we expect in India the prices to be INR 8,000-8,500 per tonne higher than fourth quarter which will cover the cost increases that we are facing due to high coal prices, and similarly in Europe it will be higher by EUR 60 per tonne than in Q4.”He also said “If people think coal and steel prices to go back to where they were 5-10 years back, that will not happen. So, it will settle at a much higher level and continue to be volatile. We have seen coking coal prices at USD 50 around 15 years back. You will never see that and then we thought USD 100-150 was the new normal, and then started getting used to USD 300. At one point, USD 400 was thought to be the highest ever. So, I think we should get used to a higher level than we have been used to in the past. Very few people are investing in coal, but demand continues to grow as steel production increases and that is an issue as well. I expect the prices to stay at higher levels for sometime.”
