State-owned steel major SAIL today said it has hiked steel prices by up to

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Rs 600 a tonne, effective from March 1, on account of increase in excise duty.

"Yes there is a price increase of about Rs 500 to Rs 600 a tonne due to the excise duty hike. The price increase is effective from March 1," Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) Chairman S K Roongta told reporters on the sidelines of All India Induction Furnace Association meet here.

Roongta said the hike in excise duty will result in steel prices going up. Partially rolling back the fiscal stimulus in Budget 2010-2011, the government raised excise duty by 2-10 per cent across the board.

To spur economic activities, the government had earlier initiated massive spending programmes and slashed duties from December 2008 in three stages following the global financial crisis that began in September same year.

Steel Secretary Atul Chaturvedi also said steel prices were set to go up.

"They (steel prices) will go up now. You have to decipher between inflation and recession. Companies have to earn money and this could be done only if either raw material prices go down or their steel prices go up," Chaturvedi said.

When asked if the price rise was alarming he said, "If we see steel prices in the last 30 months, the current scenario is not alarming."