China Steel Corp (中鋼) yesterday held steady domestic steel prices for delivery next month, snapping four straight months of upticks as customers digest the effects of price hikes and macroeconomic factors.
The steelmaker said its move matched steps made by Chinese peers Baowu Steel Group Ltd (寶武鋼鐵), the world’s biggest steelmaker, and Angang Steel Co (鞍山鋼鐵), which both paused price hikes for hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel for domestic delivery next month.
“China Steel has been hiking prices following the global steel market’s uptrends since the beginning of this year, but it will take more time for the supply chains to pass the higher costs to downstream clients,” China Steel said in a statement.
Photo courtesy of China Steel Corp
Customers have reduced inventory to healthy levels, but they became conservative about building inventory to cope with the steel industry’s peak season this quarter, as banking turmoil in the US and Europe as well as escalating geopolitical tensions weakened their confidence, the Kaohsiung-based company said.
“Steel prices would enter a transition period in the short term,” it said.
The company said that steel prices would probably start trending upward again after the short pause, given that most Asian steel markets are entering a benign consolidation phase before any breakouts.
Steel prices in the US and Europe are rebounding thanks to improved consumer confidence, it said.
In addition, a pull back in raw material costs is also keeping global steel prices from climbing, the statement said.
Iron ore prices have fallen to between US$120 and US$130 per tonne, while coking coal prices fell to between US$285 and US$300 per tonne, it said.
However, China Steel has a positive view, expecting that demand would bounce back later this year due to improving demand for housing projects and home appliances as the government rolls out tax incentives to upgrade to green products.
To align with the muted market sentiment in Taiwan and the rest of Asia, China Steel said it did not adjust its domestic prices, although manufacturing costs are on the rise.
The company expects its electricity bill to surge by NT$1.2 billion (US$39.39 million) annually after Taiwan Power Co (台電) increased electricity rates by 17 percent for industrial heavy users starting this month.
Higher global crude oil prices and rising water prices also pushed up manufacturing costs, China Steel said.
Prices for its hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel plates, electro-galvanized steel coil used in building construction, as well as galvannealed steel coil used in home appliances and computers would remain at last month’s levels, it said.
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US
RSS