Government plans reference price for steel

The government plans to set up a reference price for steel to help domestic steel makers avoid further losses amid the current plunge in the price of steel products.

Director General for Metal Industry, Machinery, Transportation Equipment and Electronics at the Ministry of Industry, I Gusti Putu Suryawiryawan was quoted by Investor Daily as saying Friday that the reference price is needed for locally-made steel products to be used in national strategic projects including electricity transmission.

The paper said that 11 steel makers have passed the pre-qualification process to participate in tender to supply steel for electricity transmission projects in the country.

Suryawiryawan said that the reference price is needed to avoid steel makers to suffer further losses amid the current drop in steel price and dumping practices by producers in China.

He said that the price of some steel products is no longer ?sensible.? (*)