China's stainless steel mills introduce weekly ex-works pricing.
China's stainless steel mills introduce weekly ex-works pricing
By Ginger Ding Shanghai. March 27. INTERFAX-CHINA - Domestic stainless steel mills, including Shanxi Province-based Taiyuan Iron and Steel Group Corp.
(TISCO), have shifted from releasing monthly ex-works prices to making weekly adjustments in order for their prices to better reflect that of the spot market, an industry analyst told Interfax on March 25.
According to a TISCO announcement on March 23, the company cut both its hot-rolled and cold-rolled 300-series stainless steel coil ex-works prices by RMB 400 ($58.55) per ton to RMB 13,920 ($2,037.44) per ton and RMB 15,420 ($2,256.99) per ton respectively for the period ending March 29.
"Zhangjiagang POSCO Steel Co. Ltd. and other stainless steel mills followed suit and lowered their ex-works prices by RMB 400 ($58.55) per ton for the week," Huang Yanhua, an industry analyst with ChinaCCM.com, said on March 25.
Baoshan Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. (Baosteel), another major stainless steel maker in China, which negotiates ex-works prices on a single order basis rather than applying a general ex-works pricing policy, is also likely to have reduced prices recently, according to Huang.
Huang explained that China's stainless steel mills are looking to strengthen their influence over the market and stabilize stainless steel spot prices through the weekly pricing scheme.
Prior to the weekly adjustment, traders were firmly in the driving seat and undercut stainless steel mills by selling products at prices much lower than monthly ex-works prices on plunging demand.
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