The nation’s largest steelmaker, China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼), yesterday said that it would raise prices by 1.87 percent on a monthly basis for deliveries in July, reflecting recovering market sentiment.
After cutting prices for two consecutive months due to floundering global markets amid the COVID-19 pandemic, China Steel said that it would increase prices to match the international industry, citing price increases by US and Chinese steelmakers.
The company is to increase prices for hot-rolled steel plates and hot-rolled steel coils, as well as hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel pipes, by NT$450 (US$15) per tonne.
The price of hot-dipped galvanized steel coils is also subject to a NT$450 increase, while the price of electromagnetic sheets would remain unchanged, China Steel said.
Seeking to improve its pricing scheme to better reflect market fluctuations, China Steel said that it would change its pricing schedule.
Instead of announcing delivery prices two months in advance, the company said that it plans to publish pricing plans a month before shipments, allowing it more leeway to adjust to changing economic conditions.
China Steel launched its monthly price plans alongside quarterly price plans this year so that prices can more rapidly match market demand.
The two pricing plans entail separate lists of products used in different industries.
Due to the longer period between quarterly price announcements and end deliveries, China Steel said that it would cut prices for domestic shipments due next quarter to help downstream industries overcome difficulties resulting from the pandemic.
The price of steel plates, steel bars and rods, hot-rolled sheets and coils, and cold-rolled products would be cut by NT$500 per tonne, the company said, adding that the price of steel products used in vehicle manufacturing would receive the same reduction.
However, the price of electro-galvanized sheets and hot-dipped galvanized steel coils used in home appliances, PCs and other devices would remain the same as for last quarter, it said.
China Steel on Thursday posted pretax losses of NT$493.16 million for last month, resulting in losses of NT$3.06 billion for the first four months of this year.
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