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| NSC In Final Stages Of HR Coil Export Talks With ROK Users |
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There are signs that Nippon Steel Corp (NSC) is in the final stages of its HR coil export negotiations with South Korea's major steel rerollers for shipments in the October-December quarter. As a result, chances are NSC will agree with the Korean steel rerollers on a price increase of US$30-50/ton in a day or two, market sources believe. NSC saw the Korean steel rerollers press hard for a price reduction in the negotiations held between the two sides last week. The Korean steel rerollers cited factors such as a weakening HR coil market in Asia and existing HR coil stocks at their works. Until now, though, the Korean steel rerollers are believed to have turned concessionary for limited stocks of high-grade HR coils at their works besides uncertain prospects of HR coil supplies from Posco, according to market sources. In East Asia, the HR coil market is on the downside as to commodity-grade products from Russia and from China's small and midsize steelmakers. Those Chinese steelmakers are holding down prices in their HR coil exports as well, with a falling domestic market for HR coils. As a result, transaction prices of commodity-grade HR coils show a decline of US$100/ton or so. On the contrary, high-grade HR coils, centering on what the Japanese steelmakers provide, are in active demand. In this connection, it is understood that the Korean steel rerollers need high-grade HR coils as the material to put out high-grade products such as automotive CR sheets and TMBP (the substrate for tinplate). By comparison, most of the commodity-grade HR coils from China that measure 3mm or more in thickness are unsuited for production of automotive CR sheets and TMBP, experts point out. |
| last modified : Wed 17 Sep, 2008 [10:51] |
