China Steel Increased on Feb. 21, 2012 Quotes for Hot-Rolled Steel

For the first time this year, China Steel increased on Feb. 21, 2012 quotes for hot-rolled steel for April and May by NT$450 per metric ton, signifying the gradual upturn of its business. Tu Chin-ling, executive vice president of China Steel, attributed the increased quotes to the output reduction of global steel firms in the fourth quarter last year and the seasonal demand for inventory replenishment. Asian steel prices rose in general recently. Chinese steel firms, for instance, have mostly raised their quotes for March. Baosteel has raised its quote for cold-rolled steel by 150 yuan per metric ton and Wuhan Iron and Steel has boosted its quotes for hot-rolled steel by 100 yuan and cold-rolled steel by 150 yuan. New export quotes of Japan and South Korea have picked up, with the quotes for hot-rolled steel having reached US$660-680 FOB per metric ton. The international steel market has apparently bottomed out. Tu pointed out that encouraged by the upturn in the international market and rising international prices, domestic downstream steel firms have resumed growth in export and domestic orders. In order to sustain the export competitiveness of downstream firms, China Steel raised prices for domestic sales of various steel products in April and May by only 1.11%, or NT$270 per metric ton on average, except common steel plates and bars and rods whose prices remained flat. Institutional investors estimated that China Steel will rack up pre-tax earnings of at least NT$15-17 billion this year, compared with NT$20.2 billion last year. Source:chinafastener.com