(Taipeitimes)-China Steel Corporation maintained steel prices from a month ago for June shipments citing uncertainties in China.

Mr Liu Jih gang VP for sales said that “Steel prices in China have been creeping down since the end of the Lunar New Year holiday, indicating a lower than expected market sentiment for this quarter. The Q2 of a year used to be a peak season for the steel market, as construction projects increased.”

Mr Liu said that “In China, Baosteel Group Corporation recently cut prices, while Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation and Anshan Iron and Steel Group Corporation made only minor price adjustments. Baosteel’s move was more likely to be a correction after the company raised steel prices many times but China Steel was still cautious.”

Meanwhile, downstream companies also said that they hope the company would ease its price hike for June contracts, with China Steel taking consideration of downstream companies’ global competitiveness as part of its pricing strategy.

Despite the downcast market sentiment, preliminary data showed the company’s orders reached 3.08 million tonnes this quarter, higher than its earlier estimate of 3.06 million tonnes. That represents a 3.36% increase from the 2.98 million tonnes sold the previous quarter.

Source – Steelguru