Taiwan’s China Steel Corp. is expected to announce a “significant increase” in domestic steel prices for April and the second quarter of 2021, Fastener World reports. 

The price of hot rolled products is expected to increase NTD 500-700 (US$17.68 – $24.75) per ton, while the prices of steel plates, wire rod, galvanized steel rolls, and automotive materials are anticipated to increase NTD 2,000-3,000 per ton, according to Fastener World.

“Prices for April and the 2nd quarter of 2021 may have left no margin for further decline,” a steel plant director told Fastener World.

“Due to the substantial increase in the international iron ore price (reaching a new 10-year high and landing at USD 176 per ton), the scheduled closure of one of the furnaces of Japan’s 2nd largest steel plant, the requirement of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China to restrict the domestic steel capacity in 2021 to be below the 2020’s level and the increasing import of steel billets, the momentum for the prices of steel products to grow is still strong. 

The price of hot rolled products in the U.S. also climbed to a record US$1,400 per ton, while steel product prices from Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp. in Vietnam for May are also expected to grow. 

If CSC does hike prices, downstream steel products suppliers such as Chun Yu, China Steel Structure, Chung Hung Steel, Mayer Steel Pipe, Yieh Phui Enterprise, Sheng Yu Steel, Hsin Kuang Steel and other steel plants will likely follow suit.