Steel major POSCO is likely to reduce prices of hot-rolled (HR) products by KRW 100,000/t ($76/t) for August sales. An official announcement is yet to be made, though. The steel major shall take growing demand and the sharp fall in prices of imported HR products into consideration.
China’s HRC (SS400) export offers stood at $700/t CFR for August shipments and the offers declined to mid-$600/t levels for September shipments. Similarly, Japanese HRC offers were at mid-$600/t for August sales. It is anticipated that offers are likely to decline for September sales.
Iron ore prices (Fe 62%) have declined to $95-100/t CFR and Australian coking coal prices have dropped significantly to $230/t FOB.
“There won’t be much improvement in sales despite the large adjustments in prices, as it is difficult to predict how long the decline in imported goods prices will continue. Also, the customer inventory levels are rising amid low season and concerns related to economic downturn,” said market participants in a joint statement.
Note: This article has been published in accordance with an article exchage agreement between SteelDaily and SteelMint.
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