Chinese steelmaker Baosteel will maintain current prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) for the domestic market for sales in January 2025.
Cold-rolled coils, plates and galvanized steel are also among the products that will remain unchanged. Thus, the company is sticking to the same pricing strategy as in December.
The only exception will be polymer-coated steel, which will see its prices rise by RMB 100 per tonne ($14 per tonne) for sales in January 2025.
As a reminder, Baosteel raised its November prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) for the domestic market by RMB 500 per tonne ($71 per tonne). At the time, the move was driven by the Chinese government’s economic stimulus measures and a sharp rise in HRC futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. However, the steelmaker kept prices stable in December due to low domestic demand.
As GMK Center reported earlier, Baosteel intends to increase steel exports to 10 million tons per year by 2028. In the first half of 2024, the company’s exports reached a record high of 3.04 million tons. In 2023, this figure increased by 46.6% year-on-year to a record high of about 5.84 million tons.
The company plans to sell 52.2 million tons of steel this year. In January-June, sales reached 25.51 million tons (-0.19% y/y). In the second quarter of 2024, sales amounted to 12.99 million tons, down 3.41% year-on-year.
