On February 24, UK-based steelmaker Corus, the European subsidiary of the Indian steel giant Tata Steel, announced that, following the price hike announced by Corus Long Products in January, the company has confirmed the £60/mt ($92/mt) increase on the base price of forging steels on all products for delivery from April 5, 2010.
The company stressed that this announcement is a confirmation of, not an addition to, the increase announced in January.
Martin Maley, commercial director long products, said, "Last year was a challenging year for the manufacturing sector, with weak market conditions leading to high stocks and increasing manufacturing unit costs.
"This much-needed price increase across the supply chain takes into account the rising input costs and increasing international demand for forging steels. The increase recognises the tenure of price agreements in this sector and, coupled with the application of variable raw material surcharges, will form the basis for annual price negotiations."