China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼), the nation’s biggest steelmaker, yesterday said that it would raise prices by 1.7 percent for next month's deliveries to reflect rising raw material costs.
The Kaohsiung-based firm said it would also increase prices for next quarter's deliveries by 8.3 percent, as market demand remains strong and production cost continues to rise.
CSC updates prices for products such as hot-rolled steel on a monthly basis to reflect market conditions, it said.
Photo: Lin Ching-hua, Taipei Times
The company updates prices for other products, such as automotive steel, on a quarterly basis, it added.
“Our principle is to set prices that are steady, gentle, opportune and balanced,” the company said in a news release. “We have taken the competitiveness of the steel industry, the cost of raw materials and price pressure on steel companies into account.”
CSC said that it anticipates strong demand ahead.
“The signs of a global recovery in manufacturing are clear,” it said. “Demand for automobiles, infrastructure projects and home appliances is rapidly increasing.”
“The World Steel Association predicts an increase of 4 percent in global steel demand this year,” CSC said.
On the demand side, companies have been slow to restore capacity to what it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“On the supply side, due to the impact of COVID-19 and extreme weather, some blast furnaces in Asia and Europe have been slow to return to production,” CSC said. “Together with disruptions in logistics, we have seen major delays.”
Downstream Taiwanese steel inventory “has reached the lowest point in years,” it said.
CSC cited high costs of raw materials, such as iron ore, scrap steel and smelting materials, for its increase of average steel prices.
“The cost of iron ore reached US$178 per tonne at one point,” the company said. “This is not too far from the all-time high of US$194.”
“Globally, steel companies are continuing to absorb the pressure of high raw material costs,” it said. “Going into the traditional strong season of the second quarter, there is clearly space for steel products that are priced each quarter to become more expensive, especially in cases where prices have fallen far behind monthly-priced products.”
Monthly-priced hot-rolled steel and cold-rolled steel are to rise NT$450 per tonne each, while electromagnetic coils are to go up in a range from NT$600 to NT$1,200 per tonne, CSC said.
For quarterly priced products, steel boards are to rise NT$2,500 per tonne, hot-rolled high-carbon steel by NT$2,800 per tonne and automotive steel by NT$2,800 per tonne, it said.
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