Taiwan's CSC raises hot-rolled plate, cold-rolled coil prices for Jan'23

China Steel Corp (CSC), Taiwan's largest steel mill headquartered in Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, has decided to raise its list prices of hot-rolled plates and cold-rolled coils by Taiwan New Dollar (TWD) 500/t ($16/t) for domestic sales in January 2023, after the three-months consecutive price cut according to a company release on 15 December 2022.

Considering the improving steel industry, competitors have also raised prices. Moreover, the global market is also on track to recover as China withdrew zero COVID policy and has taken new measures, including new investments in infrastructure to improve its economy. Global auto sales have also improved following the easing auto chip supplies, the company said.

Citing the World Steel Association (WSA), CSC pointed to falling supply from overseas and drop in crude steel production by 3.9% y-o-y during January-October 2022 period, as steelmakers in the US and Europe started production cuts.

China- that accounts for about half of the world's apparent steel consumption, has witnessed its steel inventory plunge by over 50% from this year's peak and dropping to its lowest in three years. This hints towards a slowdown in inventory digestion in the world steel industry, CSC noted.

Major Chinese steelmakers are raising their hot-rolled steel prices for exports by $30/t on the back of improving market conditions. This signals that global steel prices have hit the bottom and are ready to rebound.

Baowu Steel Group, the world's biggest steelmaker and Angang Steel Company have raised its domestic prices by RMB 50/t ($7/t) to RMB 300/t ($43/t).

US steelmakers took the lead by raising steel prices by $66/t in November 2022 and they are working on a second round of price increase. On similar lines, European steelmakers too are planning to increase prices by $85/t for deliveries in the first quarter, CSC said.