China Steel Corp (中鋼) yesterday announced that it would raise domestic product prices for delivery next quarter by an average of NT$426 (US$14.23), or 1.9 percent, per tonne because of rising international steel prices.
The increase marks its fourth consecutive quarter of price hikes and follows an average increase of 4.2 percent per tonne for this quarter’s deliveries.
The price of hot-rolled items is to increase by NT$495 per tonne, while hot-dipped galvanized steel is to rise by NT$163 per tonne, China Steel said in a statement after a quarterly meeting to decide on domestic prices.
The adjustments reflect an uptrend in global steel prices, partly because of tight supplies in Japan and China, the company said.
Major Chinese steelmakers, such as Baoshan Iron & Steel Co (寶鋼) and Wuhan Iron and Steel Corp (武鋼), have announced hikes of US$23 to US$35 per tonne for hot-rolled items for next month’s shipments, while US steel mills last month raised hot-rolled product prices to as high as US$970 per tonne and European steelmakers boosted their prices to between US$670 and US$700 per tonne, the company said.
Global steel demand is forecast to grow by 1.8 percent this year on the back of an economic recovery, the Kaohsiung-based firm said, citing World Steel Association statistics.
The state-run company said it did not pass on higher costs to downstream companies to mitigate the effect of growing trade protectionism around the world.
Although Taiwanese steelmakers are buoyed by increasing domestic demand for infrastructure as the economy recovers, they also face potential punitive tariffs from the US and the EU, the company said.
As a result, the company decided that prices for three other benchmark products — electric steel coil, electrogalvanized steel coil and cold-rolled steel — are to remain unchanged, it said.
As for its offshore wind energy development plans, China Steel said it is to sell up to NT$6 billion in unsecured corporate bonds on Monday to replenish its working capital.
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