Taipei, July 1, 2009 (CENS)--Driven by price rises of nickel and chromium iron globally, major domestic producers of stainless steel, including Yieh United Steel Corp. and Tang Eng Iron Works Ltd., will raise export and domestic prices for cold- and hot-rolled steel in July.

Both Yieh United and Tang Eng will raise the prices of cold- and hot-rolled steel for domestic sales by 3%, or between NT$2,000 and NT$3,000 per metric ton, in July. Export prices for the products will be raised by between US$80 and US$150 per metric ton. Tang Eng said it would raise the prices for the products by US$300 per metric ton because it didn`t adjust prices in the preceding month as did others.

Yieh United president I.S. Lin said the upstream steel makers have to raise product prices in response to surging raw material prices. He also predicted the stainless steel market worldwide in the second half of this year will remain steady.

Tang Eng president F.S. Wu echoes Lin`s remark, saying the move to raise product prices is to reflect rising raw material prices. For instance, Tang Eng has to pay 40% more in importing chromium iron from South Africa, compared to the prices at the end of last year.


(by Ben Shen)