Large Indian integrated steel mills have hiked base prices across flat steel products citing rising input costs and limited availability of natural gas, SteelOrbis learned from company sources on Wednesday, April 8.
The sources said that the increase in base prices in the range of INR 1,000-3,500/mt ($11-38/mt), the fourth over the past one month, is the biggest seen in recent months. Following the announcement of the revisions, effective base prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) now stand in the range of INR 58,200-61,200/mt ($626-659/mt).
In addition, the new effective listed prices of cold rolled coil (CRC) now stand in the range of INR 65,500-68,200/mt ($705-724/mt).
“This new upward price correction is very possible as mills will be doing about 25-30 percent less production,” a market source stated.
An official at one of the large mills said that frequent price hikes were made necessary by the rapid rise in input prices, with producers under pressure to protect their margins and maintain operational viability.
Citing an example, he said that imported coking coal prices had increased by $10-15/mt in the second half of March 2026, currently working out at around $265/mt CFR for premium mid-volatile coking coal. At the same time, production of CRC has been impacted by the rising price, along with disruptions of natural gas supplies.
According to a Mumbai-based distributor, the rapid consecutive price hikes are likely to be absorbed by the market because of low inventories and tight supplies. Added to this, at least one mill is considering a maintenance shutdown in the coming weeks, which would further aggravate the tight supply side, he noted.
