China origin wire rod to S. Korea

The contract price for 7,000 mt of China's Baosteel-made JIS S48C grade 13, 15 and 16 mm diameter wire rod for export to South Korea is at $577/mt FOB via payment by letter of credit for February-March shipment. Baosteel has increased its S48C grade wire rod price by RMB 300 per metric ton ($39/mt) excluding VAT in the first quarter of 2007. This product was first successfully produced in Baosteel according to Japanese Standard just 2 years ago and to date has only been applied in a few factories in China and South Korea. Therefore, the price of this grade of wire rod cannot be compared with other wire rod grades.