Yieh United to raise prices of stainless steel

Taipei, Dec. 29, 2003 (CENS)--In line with the sharp increase of international nickel price, Yieh United Steel Corp., one of Taiwan's steel firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, recently announced it would hike the domestic sales price of stainless steel products by NT$6,000 (US$176.4 at US$1:NT$34) to NT$7,000 (US$205.8) per metric ton, staring from the beginning of January next year.

The company said it also plans to raise the export price of the products by US$200 to US$280 per metric ton, higher than the market expectation. Seeing the move launched by Yieh United, Chien Shing Stainless Steel Co., another stainless-steel manufacturer, will follow suit. Some downstream firms specializing in steel rolling and cutting, Sinkang Steel Corp., Yeun Chyang Industrial Co. and Hsin Kuang Steel Co., will also reflect the price hike on their products.

One of the big winners amid the price hike on stainless steel is Chien Shing, because it has inventory of 40,000 metric tons. Chien Shing said it has been largely importing nickel to facilitate its operation since the third quarter of this year. The company estimated it would obtain over NT$100 million (US$2.94 million) in profits in January next year. At present, the company's single-month earnings reaches between NT$70 million (US$2.05 million) and NT$80 million (US$2.35 million).

With inventory of stainless steel to meet their production demand for one and half a month up to two months, Sinkang, Yeun Chyang, and Hsin Kuang each will see profit increase by NT$100 million (US$2.94 million) in the first quarter of next year.

Thanks to the strong demand from mainland China for non-ferrous metal to support its fast-growing economy, the international nickel price is currently set at over US$15,500 per metric ton, up 30% from US$12,000 registered a month ago.