Sales of domestic production special steel bars in South Korea declined in August compared with the previous month, but industry officials said the pace of decrease of sales was slower than anticipated.
As the major reasons for the sluggish sales of special steel bars in August, analysts cited the shrunken monthly working days in August at major consumers and distributors for their summer vacation for a week at the beginning of last month and the seasonal doldrums of demand in July and August. However, they said it is necessary to watch some more whether such a sluggish sales trend will continue untill the fourth quarter of the year.
A recent survey by the Korea Metal Journal on seven major South Korean producers of special steel bars, namely, SeAH Besteel, POSCO Specialty Steel, Hyundai Steel, Jeenyang Steel, Dongil Steel, Dongil Ind. and Kwang Jin Ind. showed that their sales at home and abroad in August totaled approximately 203,225 mt. In August, meanwhile, sales of imported Chinese special steel bars in the domestic market amounted to 90,742 mt.
Sales of domestic special steel bars in South Korea reached 178,170 mt in August. In the domestic market, sales of steel bars to end-users and distributors stood at 91,979 mt and 86,191 mt, respectively, in August. Overseas sales totaled 25,055 mt in August