China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼), the nation’s largest steelmaker, yesterday said it would keep prices intact for some products and make small increases for others next month, as end-market demand needs more time to recover and customers favor low inventory toward the year’s end.
Prices for hot-rolled steel plates, hot-rolled steel coil, cold-rolled steel coil, and steel coil would increase by NT$300 per tonne, the Kaohsiung-based company said.
However, prices would remain unchanged for electro-galvanized steel coils, electrical steel coils and galvanized steel coils used in home appliances and computers, it said.
Photo courtesy of China Steel Corp
CSC said it arrived at the decision after taking into consideration the presidential transition in the US and the introduction of stimulus measures in China.
CSC added it would adopt flexible measures to help upstream and downstream firms improve their business and capacity, in line with market trends and the principle of pricing stability.
The global steel market has observed mixed fortunes, with the global economy gaining momentum, but currency exchange rates and raw material prices have grown increasingly volatile, it said.
The US presidential election has come to a peaceful end, removing uncertainty over its outcome, the company said.
At the same time, China announced a 10 trillion yuan (US$1.3 billion) program to relieve debt pressures on local governments and provide room for fiscal stimulus measures next year, it said.
Overall, the global steel supply remains tight, but it would take some time for the manufacturing industry and end-market demand to emerge from the woods, it said.
US president-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House might bring new US-China trade disputes that could weigh on Chinese exports, the steelmaker said.
Taiwan has imposed anti-dumping duties on China’s galvanized steel products with the case on hot-rolled steel under way, it said.
Local firms should avoid using China’s low-price steel raw materials in their finished products or semi-finished products to reduce the risk of entanglement in a US-China trade war, CSC said.
Such voluntary practices would lend the Taiwanese government a helping hand in its effort to seek an exemption from US steel tariffs, the company said.
According to the World Steel Association, global steel demand would climb 1.2 percent to 1.77 billion tonnes next year, or an increase of 20.6 million tonnes from this year, as the recovery gains traction.
China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index last month returned to expansion after a six-month hiatus, while US private consumption last quarter expanded 3.7 percent, accelerating from a 2.8 percent uptick three months earlier, favorable for Taiwan’s exports, CSC said.
Taiwan might put up a stable GDP growth of 3.15 percent next year, on top of a 4 percent increase this year, CSC added.
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said second-quarter revenue is expected to surpass the first quarter, which rose 30 percent year-on-year to NT$118.92 billion (US$3.71 billion). Revenue this quarter is likely to grow, as US clients have front-loaded orders ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on Taiwanese goods, Delta chairman Ping Cheng (鄭平) said at an earnings conference in Taipei, referring to the 90-day pause in tariff implementation Trump announced on April 9. While situations in the third and fourth quarters remain unclear, “We will not halt our long-term deployments and do not plan to
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
RSS