The steel industry on Thursday assured the government that it will hold the price line for this month, despite rise in input costs and pressure on their margins, to help it fight inflation.

The industry also asked Finance Minister P Chidambaram not to roll back export duty of Rs 300 per metric tonne on iron ore, announced in the Budget 2007-08, since the input is the crucial element for the steel industry.

"We will not increase the prices for the month of April, but will review the situation next month," Assocham senior vice president Sajjan Jindal, who led the steel industry delegation, said after a meeting with Chidambaram and other ministry officials.

He said input prices of steel like railway freight and finances have gone up of late and the industry's decision to hold the price line would strain its profitability, the industry decided to hold the price line to help the government tame the rising inflation.

"It is not the finance minister alone who should be worried about inflation. Steel is the big item in the wholesale prices-based inflation. We have to support the government fight inflation," Jindal who is also vice chairman and managing director of JSW Steel Ltd, said.

After remaining unchanged for three weeks in a row at 6.46 per cent, inflation declined to 6.39 per cent for the week ended March 24, still at much higher level than RBI's projection of 5-5.5 per cent for this fiscal.

The delegation comprises representatives of SAIL, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Power and others.