1.47 lakh shares were traded on the counter on BSE

The stock hit a high of Rs 1,374 and a low of Rs 1,260 in the day’s trading session.

The stock surged sharply in the past few sessions from late April 2006. From Rs 1,247.55 on 28 April 2006, the stocks surged to Rs 1,531.60 on 10 May 2006 as buying continued. From here, it slipped to Rs 1,467.70 on 12 May 2006 on profit-booking.

Iron ore exporter Sesa Goa advanced today after Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), the world's leading producer and exporter of iron ore, said that it had secured a groundbreaking 19% price increase for 2006 in negotiations with Germany's biggest steel-maker, ThyssenKrupp A.G.

Late last year, Sesa Goa entered into a technology licensing agreement with XTnrgy, LLC. (XT), based in Delaware, USA. The agreement grants XT an exclusive and non-transferable licence to use the company's Indian patented non-recovery coke making technology for setting up non-recovery coke oven plants within North America, Central America, South America and the United Kingdom.

XT proposes to adapt this technology to set up coke plants compliant with USEPA regulations along with co-generation power plants for use in the US market.

The surge in iron ore prices stems from a strong demand for steel, driven mostly by Chinese economic growth. China, the world’s largest consumer of iron ore, is buying more steel making raw materials as investment in factories, buildings and other fixed assets. Chinese demand rose 28% in the first nine months of 2004.

Sesa Goa has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the surging demand and prices of iron ore. It is one of the biggest exporters of iron ore from India.

Sesa Goa’s net profit slipped 32.30% to Rs 184.05 crore in Q4 March 2006 on the back of a 22% fall in net sales to Rs 599.35 crore.