JSW Steel Ltd reported a 23 per cent growth in crude steel output to 6.64 lakh tonnes for August 2011 over the corresponding month last year. The increase is attributed to the commencing of a new furnace at the company's Vijaynagar plant in mid-July.

JSW reported an 8 per cent growth in its flat products output at 4.84 lakh tonnes and a 44 per cent increase in long products at 1.25 lakh tonnes during August. The JSW Steel scrip ended marginally lower at Rs 678.95 on the BSE on Thursday.

In July, JSW Steel had reduced output due to the shortage of iron ore in the aftermath of the Supreme Court ban on mining in Bellary. However, JSW restored production to 80 per cent of installed capacity in early August after NMDC was allowed to mine 1 million tonnes per month.

The extension of mining ban by the apex court to Chitradurga and Tumkur districts in late August further restricted iron ore supplies, impacting the steel output. Thus, the Vijaynagar plant operated at an average of 75 per cent of installed capacity in August, JSW said in a statement.

Considering the hardship faced by the steel industry in the region, the apex court in early September had allowed release of 1.5 million tonnes of iron ore a month from the existing stock.