Three major South Korean producers of hot rolled coils (HRC), namely, POSCO, Hyundai Steel and Dongbu Steel, enjoyed brisk HRC sales of almost 1.5 million mt in November this year, recording an increase for two months in a row, helped by robust demand for coils in the domestic market.
A recent survey indicates that these producers' November sales of HRC totaled 1,497,000 mt, the biggest monthly figure since April this year. They sold 1,014,000 mt of HRC in the domestic market and 483,000 mt in the overseas market. In November, the producers' exports increased by about 30,000 mt from a month ago.
Brisk sales by POSCO in the overseas market and by Hyundai Steel in the domestic market were found to have boosted the overall monthly sales of HRC in November. A fluctuation in the Korean won-US dollar exchange rate in September and October resulted in a fall in imports of HRC, leading to an increase in the consumption of domestic production HRC in November, according to analysts.
By company, POSCO sold 829,000 mt of its HRC in November, with 486,000 mt sold at home and 343,000 mt abroad. Its overseas sales of HRC increased by about 100,000 mt from a month ago.
Hyundai Steel suffered a slump in the overseas sales of its HRC in November, but its HRC sales in the domestic market exceeded 500,000 mt, bringing its total monthly sales of HRC to 617,000 mt.
HRC sales by Dongbu Steel dropped significantly in November, as the company decreased shipments of its low-priced HRC due to deterioration of profitability, while it increased the in-house use of its HRC.