India’s crude steel production reached 14.21 million tonnes in May 2026, up 2.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY), according to data released by the Ministry of Steel showed on Thursday.
Hot metal production grew 2.0% YoY, while pig iron output (0.77 million tonnes) posted a growth of 1.1% YoY, shows the data.
It highlighted that the finished steel production reached 13.94 million tonnes in May 2026, up 7.7% YoY, while finished steel consumption in May 2026 was 14.33 million tonnes, registering growth of 9.0% YoY.
Crude steel production was 28.04 million tonnes during April-May 2026, up 2.7% over the corresponding period last year (CPLY), compared with 27.30 million tonnes in April-May 2025.
Hot metal production grew 2.7% CPLY, while pig iron output (1.50 million tonnes) posted a growth of 0.2% CPLY. Finished steel production reached 27.36 million tonnes, up 6.4% CPLY.
Finished steel consumption in April-May 2026 was 27.36 million tonnes, registering growth of 8.7% CPLY, driven by sustained demand from construction, infrastructure, and manufacturing end-use segments, as per the data.
On the trade front, imports stood at 0.69 million tonnes and exports at 0.51 million tonnes in May 2026, registering year-on-year growth of 62.5% and 29.9% percent over May 2025 levels of 0.42 million tonnes and 0.39 million tonnes respectively.
Imports were 1.37 million tonnes and exports at 0.98 million tonnes during April-May 2026, making India a net importer during the period. Compared with April-May 2025, when imports were 0.94 million tonnes and exports were 0.77 million tonnes, imports and exports grew by 45.0% and 27.4%, respectively, during April-May 2026.
Furthermore, India’s total crude steelmaking capacity reached at approximately 220 MTPA in FY 2025-26, keeping the industry on track to achieve the National Steel Policy target of 300 MTPA by 2030.
Domestic steel prices decreased month-on-month (MoM) in May 2026 across all major product categories. TMT/Rebar prices declined 1.3% MoM, though they still registered a 4.5% YoY gain — marking the first positive YoY reading after several months of weakness.
Flat steel prices also declined, with HR Coil and GP Sheet prices both falling by approximately 0.2% MoM.
