Steel consumption growth outpaces production in Q1
India's finished steel consumption rose 8.3% year-on-year to 41.6 million tonnes during April-June 2026, according to provisional data released by the Ministry of Steel on Monday. This growth outpaced finished steel production, which increased 5.9% to 41.0 million tonnes, indicating strong domestic demand.
Monthly performance and crude steel output
On a monthly basis, finished steel consumption grew 7.2% year-on-year to 14.2 million tonnes in June 2026, while production increased 6% to 13.8 million tonnes. Crude steel output also registered growth, rising 3% year-on-year to 42.1 million tonnes during April-June, with June production up 3.9% to 14.1 million tonnes.
India remains net importer of finished steel
The ministry stated that India was a net importer of finished steel in terms of quantity for the April-June period. Finished steel imports surged 49.2% year-on-year to 2.06 million tonnes during the quarter, while exports rose 31.4% to 1.59 million tonnes.
Domestic steel prices soften in June
Domestic steel prices softened in June compared to May. TMT (10 mm) prices fell 4.7% month-on-month to Rs 60,068 per tonne, HR Coil prices declined 0.5%, CR Coil prices fell 1.1%, and GP Sheet prices were down 2.8%. Among raw materials, NMDC's iron ore prices increased, with Baila lump ore rising 3.6% to Rs 5,700 per tonne and Baila fines up 3.2% to Rs 4,850 per tonne. Manganese ore prices fell 5% and scrap prices declined 4.4%.
Steelmaking capacity and policy initiatives
The ministry highlighted that India's steelmaking capacity remained at 221.9 million tonnes per annum, supporting progress towards the National Steel Policy target of 300 million tonnes by 2030. Key industry developments included a digital transformation drive for the steel sector, the grant of Miniratna Category-I status to MECON, an anti-dumping investigation into hot-rolled flat steel imports from China, Japan and Russia, and the commencement of construction of JSW Group's 2 MTPA integrated steel plant in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh.
Green steel initiatives
On green steel, SAIL Rourkela Steel Plant launched a CO₂ Dashboard, described by the ministry as a first-of-its-kind digital platform with 100% ERP-SAP based data integration to strengthen decarbonisation efforts.
