India's major steelmakers, including SAIL, TATA Steel and JSW Steel, state that a revival of steel demand is currently being witnessed in the country following improved consumption from key sectors, such as construction and automotive.
"In February we grew by 9-10 percent. We expect the growth in March to be close to that," S.K. Roongta, chairman of state-run producer SAIL, said on the sidelines of an annual conference organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Mr Roongta added that steel prices were currently stable in India, and were lower than international prices.
"Tata Steel, which controls European steelmaker Corus, will produce more steel in India in the current quarter than in the previous quarter, to meet higher demand," said J.J. Irani, a director at the private sector steel producer.
"The steel sector is now doing quite well. There is an overall growth in demand for steel. It is a positive sign," JSW Steel vice chairman Sajjan Jindal said.
"This whole year, we will see a slight growth in steel demand, may be by four to five percent as steel consumption increases," added Jindal.
Ruling out any changes in price structure, Jindal said, "Domestic steel prices have already come down. We are already more or less bottomed out. Do not talk about pushing it further down," he said.
Moreover, some other steelmakers such as Essar Steel and VISA Steel said they expect the improving trend to continue during the next fiscal year.