Regulators in top steel-making cities warn of price abnormalities to curb runaway steel prices
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Update time : 2021-05-14 22:22:20
Market regulators in two Chinese steel-making cities warned steel mills of runaway steel prices on Friday, in what analysts and industry insiders described as a "strong sign" of the government's determination to curb commodities prices.
Commodities futures and spot prices for iron ore and some steel prices started showing signs of being tamed on Friday. Earlier in the week, three Chinese exchanges hiked transaction fees amid rising attention from the Chinese government.
Market regulators in Tangshan, North China's Hebei Province, on Friday summoned all the iron and steel companies in the city and warned them to stay away from any pricing abnormalities, including speculations and hoarding.
Regulators noted that the surge in steel prices has far exceeded that of the rise of iron ore and threatened to impose "severe" penalties, even including revoking business licenses, if steel makers are found to have engaged in illegal pricing activities.
Tangshan, the world's largest steel-producing city and dubbed as China's steel capital, produced about 14 percent of China's raw steel in 2020.
On the same day, the municipal government of Shanghai also summoned its steel-making companies, telling them to fulfill social responsibilities and be "cooperative" in government's efforts to stabilize runaway steel prices.
