China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼), Taiwan’s largest steelmaker, on Thursday said that it is raising domestic steel prices by 8 percent on average for delivery next month, reflecting climbing steel demand worldwide and increased manufacturing costs due to higher raw material prices.
The Kaohsiung-based company is hiking prices for a 12th consecutive month, taking a cue from its Chinese counterparts Baosteel Group Corp (寶鋼) and Wuhan Iron and Steel Corp (武鋼), as well as Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp (台塑河靜鋼鐵興業) in Vietnam.
Formosa Ha Tinh has raised steel prices by US$120 per tonne, CSC said.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
“Global steel demand is picking up significantly due to a recovery in the world economy,” CSC said in a statement. “Tight steel supply and price hikes in raw materials, including coal, iron ore and shipping costs, have pushed global steel prices to historic highs.”
“High steel prices are becoming a new norm,” it said.
The company expects the uptrend to extend into next quarter.
Domestic steel prices have increased at a much slower rate than global steel prices, it said.
The price discrepancy has caused unusual exports of steel, causing domestic supply and demand imbalance, the company said.
“This has gone against the free-market mechanism,” CSC said.
The latest price hikes aim to alleviate mounting manufacturing costs as prices of global iron ore, which is used to make steel, have surged to an all-time high of US$229 per tonne, CSC said.
Global coal prices are also on the rise, it said.
Prices of mainstream hot-rolled steel and hot-roll steel plates are to rise by NT$2,300 (US$82.11) per tonne next month, while cold-roll steel prices are to climb by NT$2,500 per tonne, the company added.
The company is to raise prices for mid-to-low-grade electrical steel coils by NT$1,000 per tonne and NT$1,500 for high-end coils, while prices for hot-dipped zinc-coated steel coils used in home construction are to rise by NT$2,500 per tonne, it said.
The price uptrend helped CSC post a net profit of NT$9.03 billion in the first quarter, from losses of NT$2.26 billion a year earlier, or earnings per share of NT$0.58, up from losses per share of NT$0.15.
First-quarter revenue expanded 24.54 percent to NT$97.82 billion, from NT$77.92 billion in the same period last year.
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