Posted on 03 Nov 2023
Yieh United Steel Corp (Yusco), Taiwan's largest stainless steel producer headquartered in Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, has decided to cut its 304-grade stainless list prices for business discussions in November to reflect the poorly performing local and overseas stainless markets, Mysteel Global learned.
For local sales this month, Yusco's list prices for 304-grade stainless hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) have been trimmed by TWD 1,500/tonne ($46.4/t) from October, while those for 430-grade stainless HRC and CRC stay unchanged on month.
As for its business with overseas customers in November, Yusco has lowered its list prices of 304-grade stainless HRC and CRC accordingly by $50/t from October, while the stainless giant has rolled over its prices for 430-grade stainless HRC and CRC, the official said.
This month's price cut, Yusco's first since July, was needed given the depressed stainless demand from local and overseas buyers, it said. The company's decision was in line with market expectations, as many market participants are not so confident about the stainless market this quarter.
In parallel, the steady weakening of global prices for nickel, a major stainless steelmaking raw material, could not lend too much support to the stainless prices, Mysteel Global noted.
As of October 31, three-month nickel futures on the London Metal Exchange closed at $18,130/t, lower by another $564/t compared with the end of September, according to the exchange's data.
In fact, the production costs that Taiwan's stainless producers are bearing remain high due to the devaluation of New Taiwan dollar. "But in order to help domestic customers improve their competitiveness, stainless mills in Taiwan had to cut their list prices for November sales," a local market source said.
Meanwhile, Tang Eng Iron Works, another leading stainless producer headquartered in Kaohsiung, will continue to negotiate stainless sales prices with customers individually this month, with reference to the list prices of other stainless producers and market changes in near term, Mysteel Global noted.
Source:Mysteel Global
