China Steel cuts January, February prices on demand

Prices for four types of products will fall, while three others, including hot-rolled coil, will stay unchanged, the Kaohsiung-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. The mill slashed prices by 4.5 percent in December.

Steel prices in the U.S. fell 5 percent in November as manufacturers held back from buying, Purchasing magazine said yesterday in a monthly update. Prices in China, the largest producer, may stay around breakeven levels next year because of excess capacity, Hebei Iron & Steel Group said Nov. 20.

“We aren't surprised by the price cut, as the steel market is still bottoming out,” said Angela Chuang, an analyst at Capital Securities Corp. in Taipei, who has “buy” rating on the stock. The mill may raise prices in March when the economy improves, she said.

The company lowered prices of plates by an average NT$1,384 (US$43) a metric ton and cold-rolled steel by NT$129, it said. It also reduced prices of electrical sheets by NT$800, and hot- dipped zinc-galvanized sheets by NT$1,157.

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