While leading South Korean steelmaker POSCO has originally been expected to raise its prices for the domestic market in early April, so far it still has not made any move to increase its prices. Now it is thought that POSCO will announce increased prices at the end of April instead.
According to market sources, POSCO has mainly delayed its price increase announcement due to pressure from the South Korean government, which has asked domestic companies to keep prices stable in order to help curb inflation.
POSCO is currently offering hot rolled coil (HRC) at KRW 900,000/mt ($825/mt) ex-works and cold rolled coil (CRC) at KRW 1.02 million/mt ($935/mt).
POSCO is expected to increase its prices for HRC and CRC by a margin of $90-100/mt, while prices of thick plate are also expected to be raised.
Given that the international market has continued to decline recently, traders believe that the anticipated price increase from POSCO will not be accepted by all users. Thus, it is believed that POSCO may also give discounts.