POSCO to hike SS prices on nickel costs

South Korean steel giant POSCO announced that it will increase the domestic prices of its stainless steel products by 9-10 percent as of July 26, 2006, in an effort to offset rising nickel costs. Accordingly, the price of 300 series SS HR coil will increase by around 10 percent to Won 2.88 million/ton ($3,026/ton), while the price of 300 series SS CR will rise to Won 3.15 million/ton ($3,310/ton), up by about 9 percent. A POSCO official said, “This is the fourth price hike for stainless products this year. As the nickel price has gone up more than 80 percent so far this year, we can't help but raise the selling prices.”