Announcement for Domestic Steel Prices for the Third Quarter /July Shipments of 2024
2024-06-24
[June 20th, 2024], China Steel Corporation (CSC) hereby announces following statement, regarding the forecast and sales price adjustment for the Third-quarter/July shipment of 2024.
As global inflation continues to cool down, Europe and Canada lead with interest rate cuts, boosting investment and consumer demand.The global economy continues to heat up as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raises this year's global GDP growth forecast to 3.2%. Taiwan benefits from the booming development of artificial intelligence (AI) and highperformance computing, with strong export momentum in related demands. The Central Bank of Taiwan has recently revised this year's GDP growth rate from 3.2% to 3.77%, potentially reaching a three-year high.
Major economies such as the US, Europe, and China are seeing increased momentum in manufacturing recovery. S&P Global reported that the US PMI for May was 51.3, remaining in expansion territory for five consecutive months. The Eurozone's May PMI index rose from 45.7 in April to 47.3, indicating an acceleration in manufacturing momentum. In China, the People's Bank of China launched the "Three Arrows" policy (reducing down payments, lowering interest rates, and government purchases) in May to boost market confidence. Taiwan benefits from the revival of demand in European and American end markets, with its PMI rebounding strongly from 49.4 in April to 55.4 in May. The high-tech and semiconductor boom has driven strong demand for factories and commercial buildings, leading to a bustling steel structure and construction steel industry. With global car sales steadily recovering, Taiwan's domestic car sales reached 191,000 units in the first five months of this year, maintaining high levels similar to last year's 192,000 units, showcasing outstanding performance.
According to worldsteel statistics, global steel demand peaked at 1.845 billion tons in 2021 but experienced a decline due to factors such as wars, high inflation, high-interest rates, high inventory, and geopolitical risks, reaching a relative low of 1.763 billion tons in 2023. Demand is expected to grow by 1.7% and 1.2% in 2024 and 2025, respectively, returning to 1.815 billion tons, with an increase of 52 million tons over two years. Looking ahead to the second half of 2024, the end-use demand for the steel industry is expected to rebound and return to its growth trajectory with the support of global monetary easing and economic stimulus policies.
On the supply side, worldsteel statistics show that the global crude steel production from January to April this year totaled approximately 624 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 0.9%, indicating a tightening trend. At the end of May, the State Council of China reiterated the implementation of steel capacity replacement, strictly requiring the exit of some high-energy-consuming steel mills. The continued control of crude steel production in 2024 is expected to tighten supply, helping to balance supply and demand.
Due to China's off-season in the third quarter and steel production control policies, iron ore prices are consolidating in the range of $100-110 per ton. With large coal mines' maintenance plans in the third quarter and post-election demand release in India, coal prices have risen to $250-260 per ton. Additionally, recent geopolitical risks have driven up shipping costs, providing support for the cost side. In terms of steel prices, the US steel market is stabilizing, while the EU's steel safeguard measures have been extended for another two years until the end of June 2026. These measures include a quarterly cap of approximately 140,000 tons per country for hot-rolled products, leading European steel mills to anticipate price hikes due to reduced imports. ArcelorMittal announced a price increase of €30 per ton (approximately $33) for long products in early June. Baosteel and Anshan Iron and Steel maintained flat prices for plate products in July, while South Korea's POSCO raised the ex-factory price of hot-rolled steel for pipe-making by $7-22 per ton in June, boosting market confidence. Moreover, the Vietnamese government will initiate anti-dumping investigations on hot-rolled products from China and India, indicating a potential rebound in the Asian steel market.
The global economy is showing a moderate recovery, but faces challenges from the off-season demand in the third quarter and changes in global trade conditions. These include the US raising Section 301 tariffs on China, new EU steel safeguard measures, and adjustments to the ECFA between Taiwan and China. To ensure the momentum of downstream orders, CSC continues to adhere to the "timely, appropriate, and stable" pricing principle. For July's monthly products, we will maintain stable prices in line with the stable domestic market trend, supplemented by various support measures to help customers cope with the impact of low-priced imported steel. For the third quarter's seasonal products, considering the current situation and demand strength of various industries, we will maintain a flat-to-high price trend to stabilize customers' procurement costs and assist users in securing orders.
In recent years, the overcapacity of various industrial products in China has disrupted the global market, as repeatedly pointed out by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during her visit to China in April. Since last year, China's overproduction and dumping of steel (including semi-finished products) at low prices have severely impacted the global steel market, with the Asian steel industry, especially Taiwan, being significantly affected. To effectively curb the damage caused by China's direct or circumvention of low-priced steel imports, CSC has completed data compilation and evidence collection and will enter the trade remedy application process to defend the development of the domestic industry.
CSC hereby announces the prices adjustments of domestic steel sales for the Third-quarter and July shipments of 2024 are listed below：
|
July |
Products |
Average Adjusted |
|
HR Plate |
+0 |
|
|
HR |
+0 |
|
|
CR |
+0 |
|
|
EG |
+0 |
|
|
GI (Constructing) |
+0 |
|
|
GI (Appliances) |
+0 |
|
|
ES |
+0 |
|
|
Third-quarter |
Products |
Average Adjusted |
|
Bar and wire rod |
+0 |
|
|
Plate(ship plate, A36/SS400) |
+0 |
|
|
Plate(Other) |
+500 |
|
|
Plate(SM570 series) |
+500 |
|
|
HR (Medium -High Carbon, Tooling) |
+0 |
|
|
CR (Medium -High Carbon, Tooling) |
+0 |
|
|
CR (Drum) |
+0 |
|
|
Automotive usage |
+800 |
Information Origin : http://www.csc.com.tw/CS/CSC_E/NC/neli/neli.aspx
Back