No proof of steel cartel, says Prasada

NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday said there was ���no evidence��� of cartelisation by the steel makers, a day after finance minister P Chidambaram warned of tough measures against the cartel-like behaviour by steel and cement makers.

���The steel prices are determined by market forces, such as demand and supply and international prices... However, no evidence on cartelisation by steel companies in determining steel prices has been brought to the notice of the ministry of steel,��� minister of state for steel Jitin Prasada said in a written reply to a query in the Lok Sabha. Written replies are prepared days ahead.

Yesterday, replying to a debate on price rise in the same house, Mr Chidambaram had said, ���The cement and steel manufacturers are behaving like a cartel... and we have to break the logjam.���

Prasada denied any move to set up a regulator to contain the prices of steel. ���At present, the government has no formal proposal for setting up a regulatory authority to contain the steel prices in the country,��� he said.

He, however, said following deliberations with the steel industry, prices of different long products including bars, rods and structurals have come down by Rs 4,000-5,000 per tonne between March 25 and April 12 this year.

In percentage terms, such decrease amounts to 10%, he said, adding, ���the government is closely monitoring the movement in steel prices and will take appropriate fiscal measures if necessary���.

He said the steel sector is deregulated and, therefore, the prices are determined by the interplay of market forces.

Steel prices are determined by demand-supply situation, international prices as per landed cost of imports and input costs, he said.