China Steel Corp. Lowers December Steel Price

China Steel Corp's December steel price drops for the first time since September. Prices of the 7 major steel products all drop at an average margin of 3.27%, the largest drop recorded this year. China Steel Corp's 2014 revenue is assumed decrease NTD 2 billion. With the dropping iron ore price, full year profit is expected at NTD 26 billion. The company is at full throttle to break a record within the scope of the last four years.

According to the company, as the traditional steel market enters the fourth quarter, stocks become more as a result of slowing global economic growth. Consumers purchase less resulting in the recent global steel price drop by USD 20-30 per ton. To react to the global condition, improve order intake competitiveness, and prevent from the threat of low-price import, China Steel Corp. decides to December domestic price for various steel products.

To deal with the massive import of steel plates from China, South Korea, and Indonesia, the company lowers steel plate price by NTD 861 per ton (4% drop, the largest drop margin in all steel products). Cold-rolled steel price is lowered by NTD 829 per ton (3.4% drop, the second largest). Hot rolled steel, wire rod,  galvanized steel roll, electro-magnetic steel Roll, and hot dip galvanized steel roll price are all down down NTD 600 per ton (2.2% drop). Average drop margin of December steel price is 3.27% which translates to NTD 646/Ton drop.

Regarding 2015, China Steel Corp. thinks steel price will be adjusted downwards due to the previous over-surging steel price in the U.S. Considering the fact that IMF adjusted the prospective U.S. GDP, the future market price condition still looks promising. Europe is expected to adopt QE to avoid another economic crisis. China stops blasting real estate speculations and gives easing policy for funds. Overall, the industry is cautiously optimistic about the steel market.