China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼), the nation’s only integrated steelmaker, yesterday announced bigger price cuts of 5.2 percent on average for its products to be shipped to local customers in April and May, taking its cue from the persistent downward spiral of global steel prices as decelerating economic recovery and oversupply curtail demand.
The price reduction is the steepest over the past six months, according to the information posted on the company’s Web site.
“Global steel prices fell at a faster pace than we thought in January. That has hit market sentiment,” China Steel vice president Liu Jih-gang (劉季剛) said by telephone yesterday.
In the US, prices for hot-rolled sheets have plunged almost 13 percent over the past month, Liu said.
Liu blamed unsteady economic recovery, especially in Europe and China, for the sluggish demand.
A supply glut has also added extra pressure to already weak pricing, causing major Asian steel exporters Japan and South Korea to join recent price wars, Lu said.
“As the US is the world’s biggest steel market and the major export market [for our customers], we have to help them cope with the situation. Cutting prices will help them gain orders,” Liu said.
On average, China Steel is to trim steel prices by NT$1,008 per tonne for its April and May deliveries, a much steeper reduction than the 2.27 percent, or NT$425 per tonne, cut announced last month.
However, Liu said there are some positive signs.
Warming weather might help boost the US’ construction sector and stabilizing iron prices might help prevent customers from requesting lower prices, Liu said.
Global iron ore prices plunged about 50 percent last year, which has helped steelmakers reduce fuel costs, but also led to a string of price cuts for steel products, Liu said.
Based on the company’s latest price adjustments, the price of cold-rolled sheets and coils, which are used mainly in the automobile industry, is to fall by NT$895 per tonne, while that of benchmark hot-rolled sheets and coils is to plunge by NT$1,124 per tonne, China Steel said in a statement.
The price for steel plates is to decline by NT$906 per tonne, the statement said.
The price of electrical sheets, which are used to manufacture home appliances, is to decline by NT$626 per tonne, and hot-dipped zinc-galvanized sheets will be NT$900 lower per tonne, while the price of electro-galvanized sheets will fall by NT$1,000, it said.
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