Major Chinese steelmaker Baosteel issued its prices for carbon steel flat products for delivery in January this year.
The producer has decided to keep its local base prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) stable, while also keeping its prices for steel plate, acid pickling plate, cold rolled coil (CRC), hot dip galvanized (HDG), electro-galvanized products, non-oriented silicon steel stable, though it has raised prices for oriented silicon steel by RMB 300/mt ($47/mt) and cut prices for pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) by RMB 200/mt ($31.4/mt), all for January.
The price policy of Baosteel is closely watched by major flat steel producers in Asia. Vietnamese producer Formosa Ha Tinh is expected to announce its new prices for local HRC tomorrow. A price cut is inevitable, according to sources, due to already low import offers and weak sentiment, even despite the stabilization of Baosteel’s prices. The only concern is the pace of the decline, which was $40/mt last month.
$1 = RMB 6.3669
