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Steel prices rise on iron ore price hike expectation

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-03-22 17:50

Mysteel.com's MySpic index, which tracks steel product prices in China, rose 3.4 percent to 155.9 points last week over the previous week on market expectations of a steep hike in iron ore prices, the Beijing Times reported Monday.

Figures from mysteel.com showed that except the cold-rolled products, whose prices went up by 140 yuan ($20.51) to 150 yuan per ton, all other main products saw their prices increase by more than 150 yuan per ton last week.

Prices of construction steel and medium-and-thick steel plates surged by more than 200 yuan per ton. The price increases were the biggest since the beginning of the year, the report said.

Analysts attributed the last round of steel price increases to rising costs, especially a potential surge in iron ore prices. The annual talks on iron ore pricing is ongoing, and the world's major miners have already suggested a 90 percent price hike based on the 2009 prices.

However, steel prices may not continue last week's rising streak due to certain factors. The April steel prices released by Baosteel earlier showed that the prices of some of its products will remain unchanged. Also, the China Iron and Steel Association steel inventory has increased.