China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼) yesterday said it would raise domestic steel prices by up to NT$1,200 (US$37.61) per tonne for delivery next month and next quarter, to reflect rising raw material costs and align with price hikes by regional peers.
The latest adjustments by nation’s largest steel maker follow a price increase of between NT$500 and NT$900 per tonne for delivery this month and a hike of NT$300 per tonne last month. Fubon Securities Investment Services Co (富邦投顧) had estimated an increase of between NT$500 and NT$1,000 per tonne.
“Asian currencies have been depreciating against the US dollar lately, and the New Taiwan dollar has even dropped by more than 4 percent in the past three months. This has pushed up the costs of raw materials for steel mills,” CSC said in a statement.
As major Asian steel mills have raised steel prices for delivery in the fourth quarter to reflect rising costs of iron ore and coking coal, the restocking demand is expected to emerge in the US and Europe by the end of the year, while consumption for steel used in vehicles continues to strengthen, CSC said.
It added that the global steel market is showing signs of an upward momentum.
The company said it would increase prices for major steel items — such as electrical sheets, hot-rolled steel plates and coils, cold-rolled steel coils, electro-galvanized and hot-dipped, zinc-galvanized steel coils — by NT$500 per tonne for delivery next month.
