On May 26th, China Steel Corporation (CSC) held domestic price meeting for third Quarter(July-September) shipments and announced the following statement:

IMF raises 2017 global growth forecast to 3.5% in the latest report. New projection for Emerging Asian countries and developed countries is higher than expected. WSA also predicts global crude steel demand could increase by 20 million metric tons, reaching 1.535 billion metric tons this year. Steel price uptick in Q1 is led by strong demand globally. However, the rapid increase of crude steel production during the first four months of this year resulted in decline of steel prices recently. Overall, the price levels in North America and Eurozone are still USD 100/MT higher than that in Asia.

The drastic increases of steel production in China and oversupply situation drive down Asian steel prices. In addition, Cyclone Debbie caused heavy fluctuations on metallurgical coal prices and brought further pressure on steel prices. In May, most of the Chinese steel mills suffer from losses due to the fact that prices cannot meet the cost. As Ansteel rolls over its June price tags, the market appears to bottom out. Chinese mills' quotation has increased by CNY 300~400 per metric ton (USD40~50/MT) and steel inventory level lowers by 35% compared to the peak in the meanwhile. Restocking demand is expected to push up prices in the near future.

Taiwan is heavily impacted by Chinese mills' price cut and cheap imports. Steel prices kept decreasing in Q2. Besides, New Taiwan Dollar appreciation put pressure on export-oriented industries. In order to enhance competitiveness of downstream customers, CSC decided to decrease the Q3 prices by an average of NTD 1,142/MT, or 5.28%. CSC will also strengthen monitoring on cheap imports through Taiwan Steel & Iron Industries Association, and take immediate measures once import materials threaten to impair domestic market. Price adjustments are listed below.

Prices adjustment for 2017 Q3 Domestic Sales

Products

Average Adjusted Amounts (NTD/MT)

Plate

-1,029

Bars and Rods

-500

HRC

-1,459

CRC

-1,679

EG

-1,200

ES

-600

GI

-1,896


CSC - China Steel Corporation published this content on 30 June 2017 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 30 June 2017 08:41:23 UTC.

Original documenthttp://www.csc.com.tw/CS/CSC_E/NC/neli/neli_content.aspx?newid=FA7C15C696881A6D

Public permalinkhttp://www.publicnow.com/view/6606C999233CE6EEB494187F62E85D8747EE760A