This coincided with a sharp rise in iron ore prices due to supply disruptions and elevated coking coal costs. As a result, market spreads for steel producers globally have been affected," a senior Tata Steel official said. Looking outside in India, in Europe, for instance, the steel industry is facing significant headwinds in terms of lower economic growth and trade flow uncertainty that is impacting steel consuming products. Tata Steel Europe's 1QFY20 production was impacted by planned shutdowns and unplanned outages during the quarter. This coupled with sluggish demand affected the sales volume in 1QFY20, Tata Steel official said. In India, the liquidity issues in the NBFC and banking sector along with rural stress have also negatively impacted sentiments and overall economic activities.