India's April-November finished steel exports plunge 55% y/y - data

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's finished steel exports more than halved during the first eight months of the current fiscal year that began in April, according to the latest government data reviewed by Reuters.

Finished steel exports slumped 55% to 4.3 million tonnes during April to November period due to a slowdown in global demand and the decision by India to impose an export tax on some steel products.

Last month, the government scrapped the export tax but steel makers and industry officials said it would be a challenge for mills to regain their traditional markets, including Europe.

Despite a drop in exports, India, the world's second-biggest crude steel producer, was a net exporter of the alloy.

India imported 3.8 million tonnes of finished steel in the first eight months of its financial year, up 22.5% from a year earlier. Crude steel production jumped 5.6% to 81.9 million tonnes.

The country's finished steel output rose 6.4% to 77.7 million tonnes, while consumption went up by 12% to 75.3 million tonnes between April and November.

(Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Mayank Bhardwaj and Vinay Dwivedi)