The China Steel Corp logo is pictured outside the company’s
headquarters in Kaohsiung in an undated photograph.
Photo
courtesy of China Steel Corp
It is the second
straight month that China Steel raised prices of hot-rolled plate and
cold-rolled coils, which are commonly used in construction and vehicle
manufacturing.
Pent-up
consumption demand from China grew more evident this month, after Beijing last
month scrapped its “zero COVID-19” policy, paving the way for inventory
replenishment at steel suppliers, the company said.
China’s measures
to stimulate economic activity would lend support to the real-estate and
automotive sectors, which are two major buyers of steel products, it said.
The removal of
lockdowns would dissolve supply chain bottlenecks that have tethered vehicle
production and deliveries for the past three years, it said.
The World Steel
Association, which earlier projected a meager 1 percent increase in global
steel demand to 1.815 tonnes this year, is likely to revise its guidance
upward, China Steel said.
S&P Global
Ratings projects a 5.6 percent advance in vehicle production to 83.6 million
units this year, as chip shortages are expected to ease, the company added.
On the supply
side, the capacity reduction of major global players has begun to bear fruit,
after European peers last year cut crude steel production by 40 percent, or 64
million tonnes, and Chinese steelmakers reduced crude steel output by 2.2
percent, the company said.
World Steel
Dynamics, a leading analytics and research firm specializing in global steel
industry trends, said crude steel output might drop 1.5 percent to 18.22 tonnes
this year, fueling an inventory ramp-up next month.
China-based Baowu
Steel Group (寶武鋼鐵), the world’s biggest steelmaker,
previously announced increases of 50 yuan to 100 yuan (US$7 to US$15) per tonne
in factory prices for next month, China Steel said.