South Korea: Major steelmakers raise cold rolled prices for Jan'24 sales

South Korea's major domestic short-pressed mill companies, including Dongkuk CM, KG Steel, POSCO Stillion, and SeAH CM, will increase distribution prices by KRW 70,000-80,000/t ($54-62/t) from January 2024. They have also issued an official document announcing their intention to raise prices.

Details of the price hike:

• Dongkuk CM and SeAH CM will hike prices by KRW 80,000/t ($62/t) for their cold galvanized and colour steel sheet product lines.
  
  
• KG Steel, will raise prices of cold galvanized and coloured steel sheets by KRW 80,000/t ($62/t) and KRW 70,000/t ($54/t), respectively.
  
  
• POSCO Stillion will increase the price of all its colour steel sheet products by KRW 70,000/t ($54/t).
  
  

"We had to inevitably increase the price due to the increase in costs due to the recent increase in the prices of raw materials such as hot rolled steel," an industry official acknowledged.

Despite weak demand from the building materials and home appliance markets, the trend of price increases in the cold rolled steel industry is expected to continue for the time being. The rising prices of hot rolled steel, both domestically and imports from China, are expected to contribute to further price hikes. Additionally, manufacturers focus on improving profitability over sales volume is another factor driving the price hike.

Conclusion

The upcoming price hike in the cold rolled steel industry is likely to impact various stakeholders, including manufacturers, distributors, and end users. Understanding the reasons behind the increase and its potential consequences can help businesses adapt and navigate the changing market landscape.

Note: This article has been published in accordance with an article exchange agreement between SteelDaily and SteelMint.