On August 21st, Taiwan's China Steel Corp (CSC) announced to raise Q4 and October steel prices by NTD 500-1,000 per ton for each type of steel, up an average of 3.36% which sets the largest single-quarter increase over the last two and a half years. CSC is expected to turn a loss into a profit after losses for 4 consecutive quarters. CSC President says given the status quo of the global market, there is room for further raising CSC steel prices. Considering the competitiveness of downstream clients, however, CSC seeks to take a steady price strategy to push the price upturn through the end of this year and onto Q1 2021.

After the lockdown in China was lifted, the Chinese manufacturing industry was the first to resume manufacturing activities. The steel inventory in China is consumed at an accelerated pace. The steel export continues to drop and the import into China sees a drastic increase. The September hot/cold rolled steel prices in BaoGang and WuGang were raised by RMB200 to RMB260 per ton on average. Furthermore, the floods spur reconstruction that drives explosive demand for steel distribution and brings up Asian steel prices.

In response to CSC Q4 and October steel price adjustments, Taiwan fastener industry is seeking tailored steel pricing from CSC to gain an edge in future order intake.

Taiwan CSC’s Price Adjustments of Steel Products (Fastener Related Only) for Q4 2020:
 

Item	Avg. Price Adjustment (NTD/Ton)
Wire Rod	+750
Automotive Materials	+800

Source: Fastener World