India's Crude Steel Output Rises 3% in Q1 FY26 as Finished Steel Production Grows 6%
Crude steel production stood at 14.1 Mt in June 2026, up 3.9 per cent from 13.5 Mt in the corresponding month last year. Finished steel production rose 6 per cent year-on-year to 13.8 Mt during the month, while hot metal production remained largely stable at 7.9 Mt.
India's total installed crude steel capacity remained unchanged at 221.9 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). The country's seven largest steel producers, including SAIL, RINL, Tata Steel Group, AM/NS India, JSW Group, Jindal Steel and NSL, produced 23.2 Mt of crude steel during April-June 2026.
Domestic demand remained strong, with finished steel consumption increasing 8.3 per cent year-on-year to 41.6 Mt during the April-June quarter. In June alone, finished steel consumption rose 7.2 per cent to 14.2 Mt.
Steel prices softened on a month-on-month basis in June. TMT bar prices declined 4.7 per cent to Rs 60,068 per tonne, while hot rolled coil prices eased 0.5 per cent to Rs 70,108 per tonne. Cold rolled coil prices fell 1.1 per cent to Rs 77,053 per tonne and galvanised plain sheet prices declined 2.8 per cent to Rs 86,505 per tonne.
India continued to remain a net importer of finished steel during the first quarter of FY2026. Finished steel imports increased 49.2 per cent year-on-year to 2.06 million tonnes during April-June, while exports rose 31.4 per cent to 1.59 million tonnes.
Among key raw materials, NMDC increased iron ore prices in June, with Baila Lump prices rising 3.6 per cent to Rs 5,700 per tonne and Baila Fines increasing 3.2 per cent to Rs 4,850 per tonne. Meanwhile, scrap prices declined 4.4 per cent month-on-month to Rs 40,665 per tonne, while MOIL manganese ore prices fell 5 per cent.
The Ministry of Steel continued its digital transformation initiatives through a Chintan Shivir on digitalisation, promoting adoption of artificial intelligence, automation, predictive maintenance and smart manufacturing across the sector. During the quarter, MECON Ltd was granted Miniratna Category-I status, while the Directorate General of Trade Remedies initiated an anti-dumping investigation into hot-rolled flat steel imports from China, Japan and Russia.
State-owned NMDC reported iron ore production of 5.15 Mt in June, up 44 per cent year-on-year, with cumulative production reaching 15.10 Mt during the first quarter. JSW Group also commenced construction of its proposed 2 MTPA integrated steel plant at Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh.
On the sustainability front, SAIL's Rourkela Steel Plant launched a digital CO₂ Dashboard to strengthen decarbonisation efforts, while SAIL's Barsua-Taldih Iron Mines organised plantation drives under Van Mahotsav 2026 as part of its green steel initiatives.
Published on:
07 July 2026
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