[Ferro-Alloys.com]

India's finished steel exports in April rose to their highest level in 13 months in April on the back of strong bookings from Europe, while imports also remained at elevated levels.

Finished steel exports in April rose by 13pc on the year to 855,000t, the highest since March 2022, provisional data from the steel ministry's Joint Plant Committee (JPC) show. Finished steel comprises alloyed and non-alloyed steel.

India's exports rose after the removal of export duties on steel products in mid-November 2022. Exports rose especially to the EU as higher prices in the bloc made it a preferred destination over other regions. The EU became the top finished steel export destination for Indian steelmakers during the April 2022-March 2023 fiscal year, replacing Asia.

Imports of finished steel rose by 38pc on the year to 460,000t in April. Weaker international prices are likely to keep the country's inflow of steel imports higher in the coming months.

Finished steel production rose by 3.7pc on the year to 9.98mn t, while consumption picked up by 7.2pc to 9.88mn t over the same period.

Output and consumption rose to a record 121mn t and 119mn t in 2022-23, and are likely to rise higher in the current fiscal year on the back of mills' ongoing capacity expansion projects and strong infrastructure demand in a pre-election year.

India's crude steel production rose by 1.2pc on the year to 10.5mn t in April. Hot metal production rose by 3.1pc from a year earlier to 6.78mn t, while pig iron production fell by 8.4pc to 505,000t.

• [Editor:kangmingfei]