Taipei, July 1, 2009 (CENS)--Seeing the rebound in prices for scrap steel and raw materials for steel billet globally, Feng Hsin Iron & Steel Co., one of Taiwan`s leading steel makers, will raise the selling prices for scrap steel and round steel bars by NT$300 (US$9.14 at US$1:NT$32.8) per metric ton to NT$16,000 (US$487.8) per metric ton, or a rise of 1.9% on average.

Seeing the move launched by Feng Hsin, others in the line in southern Taiwan, including Wei Chin Steel Industrial Co., Haikuang Steel Corp. and Chihyi Steel Co., will follow suit.

Pushed up by material price rises and increased demand from abroad, the export prices for round steel bars have risen by US$10 from US$500 to US$510 per metric ton.

An industry insider said the prices for container scrap steel have been raised by US$20 to reach between US$280 and US$295 per metric ton. For bulk scrap steel and those imported from Japan, the prices have reached between US$300 and US$310 per metric ton.

Furthermore, the quotation for steel billet is also on the rise, reaching US$435 F.O.B. (free on board) and between US$450 and US$470 C.I.F. (cost, insurance, freight) per metric ton.

The rising prices of scrap steel and round steel bars have triggered strong demand from Hoang Kong, Singapore and Australia.


(by Ben Shen)