China Steel Corp (CSC), Taiwan’s top steel producer headquartered in in Kaohsiung, South Taiwan, announced on late December 11 to raise its monthly and quarterly steel list prices by a range of TWD 1,200-1,500/tonne ($43-53/t) both for the domestic sales both January and January-March 2021, on the anticipation of faster recovery in demand both at home and abroad and soaring raw material prices.
“Demand from end-users, especially those in overseas market, has increased substantially since the fourth quarter of this year, and the strengthening may last into the first quarter of 2021, boosting our confidence in lifting our sales prices further,” a CSC official said.
The company’s pricing policy elaborated that “steel sales and demand may continue with the robustness in the first quarter of 2021 from the fourth quarter of this year, and other than workout facilities, telecom and electronic devices, steel demand from construction, auto manufacturing, home appliances and eco-friendly industries may also be attractive”.
In its latest monthly list prices for January sales, prices of both long and flat steel products have been raised by a range of TWD 1,200-1,400/t and the price rise for the quarterly sales is by a slightly wider range of TWD 1,200-1,500/t, or the seventh month or the second quarter for price increments, according to its releases.
CSC’s Steel Price Adjustments for January and Q1 Sales:
| Product | Price Change (TWD/tonne) | Notes |
|
Heavy plate |
+1,500 |
Q-o-Q |
|
Bar & Wire rod |
+1,500 |
Q-o-Q |
|
Hot-rolled coil |
+1,200 |
M-o-M |
|
Cold-rolled coil |
+1,200 |
M-o-M |
|
Electrolytic galvanized coil |
+1,200 |
Q-o-Q |
|
Electrical steel coil |
+1,400 |
M-o-M |
|
Hot-dipped galvanized coil |
+1,400 |
M-o-M |
Source: CSC
This suggests that the Taiwanese mill will run parallel quarterly and monthly pricing policies for some time in 2021 after it has adopted the pricing scheme since April 2020 for its different groups of customers in response to the pandemic-hit market both in Taiwan and abroad, Mysteel Global noted.
The latest price increases by CSC have been milder than the surges in the global market, as the global steel demand showed a V-shape recovery in the fourth quarter of 2020, and signs of undersupply have emerged, according to the details shared in the press release.
The prices of hot-rolled coil (HRC) in the U.S. for example, is approximating $1,000/t, and the European HRC prices have exceeded $700/t, both being much higher than the $650/t in the Asian market, or suggesting the big room existing for the Asian HRC prices to catch up, CSC warned.
At the same time, China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel, China Baowu Steel Group’s listed-arm, has lifted its HRC list prices for domestic sales in January by Yuan 400/t ($61/t), and Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation (FTS), the only integrated steelworks in Vietnam, is expected to raise its sales prices too, both to reflect higher steelmaking costs and the robust market situation outside Taiwan.
CSC, thus, have adjusted its steel prices upward but not as the same degrees as a result of having referred to the prices in the other regions as well as having taken into consideration of the competitiveness of the customers, according to the release.
For the latter half of 2020, steelmaking raw materials prices including iron ore and scrap has been on a strong upward momentum, as Mysteel’s SEADEX 62% Fe Australian Fines, for example, gained $35.2/dmt on month to $159.95/dmt CFR Qingdao as of December 11, or a new high since October 12, 2011, Mysteel Global noted.
Written by Nancy Zheng, zhengmm@mysteel.com
This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
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