New Delhi, Aug. 27 -- When a market rallies everywhere except metals, the reason is usually sitting in a Chinese port. In the three sessions since Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole address revived rate-cut expectations globally, the Nifty 50 gained 1.8%, the Nifty Midcap 150 surged 2.1%, and the Nifty Metal index was essentially flat, posting a gain of just 0.3% against a market that was otherwise celebrating.

domestic infrastructure spending that is genuinely picking up, and a wall of Chinese steel exports that has pushed international hot-rolled coil prices to levels that compress margins for Indian producers regardless of how much the government builds.

China exported 53.4 million tonnes of steel in the first half of 2026, a volume last s...