Baosteel raises March steels prices by 100-350 yuan/t

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Tuesday, 20 January 2009

China's top steel maker Baosteel Group, the parent company of Shanghai-listed Baosteel (600019.SH), announced Monday to lift the prices of its products for March delivery after the domestic steel market climbed by six weeks running. An analyst with CITIC Securities noted that the March prices of Baosteel's hot-rolled and cold-rolled products were only adjusted to the level in the first quarter of 2007, but its production cost still lingered at the higher level of 2008.
In a breakdown, prices of Baosteel's hot-rolled products generally go up by 300 yuan/ton, with those of high strength steel plates keep unchanged and others rise by 200 yuan/ton.
The prices of cold-rolled products are raised by 300 yuan/ton, with those of above 2.5 mm-width plates up by 100 yuan/ton.
Prices of galvanized products and silicon steels are adjusted up by 350 yuan/ton.
Zheng Dong, also an analyst with CITIC Securities, said that the price adjustment would relieve the company's cost pressure, but its impact on market is hard to tell because of many indefinite factors facing the industry.
Another analyst held that the company could make breakeven in making hot-rolled products according to the new prices, but its cold-rolled products would still stick in the red.
A survey by LGMI showed that the fresh price policy of Baosteel exerted limited impact on the Shanghai market, which kept running with stable price and thin trade on Monday.
China's steels market displayed an upward trend since mid-November last year. Prices of hot rolled plates had gone up by more than 1,000 yuan/ton, and those of cold-rolled plates up by 600-700 yuan/ton.
Baosteel also cut prices of medium plates due to its plain performance on the market. Since the third quarter last year, Chinese medium plate export presented month-on-month decline, affected by global downturn of shipbuilding industry.
MY STEEL statistics showed that the domestic steel market kept buoying last week, with prices of building steels going up moderately.
Source: China Mining