Jindal Stainless, a manufacturer and exporter of stainless alloys, has renegotiated all its long-term contracts with suppliers as part of a series of measures aimed at countering plunging raw material prices and slowing demand. The stainless steel industry, which has users in the construction and automobile sectors, has seen prices of nickel, its main raw material, fall by almost 48% in two months. This is the first time that the Rs 5335-crore Delhi-based company has been forced to rework all its contracts, indicating the severe downturn that the sector has been experiencing. Finance director Arvind Parakh said the company also felt the pinch further as it failed to utilise the raw material contracted earlier for the hot rolling mill, which it was forced to shut for four months. Jindal Stainless typically holds inventory of one-two months for its key raw materials, such as nickel and ferroalloys, and prices of all such inputs have fallen sharply. The price of nickel is currently USD 9325 per tonne (p/t) on the London Metal Exchange compared with the average price of USD 17,789p/t in September 2008. In addition, key ferroalloys, like lead, are at present are trading at USD 970p/t as against the average price of USD 1800p/t in September.