Hot rolled coil prices for stainless steel in Southeast Asia rose again last week. Prices for nickel pig iron continue to soar. And companies in South Korea, India and Taiwan are reporting significant profit growth for the year to date, particularly in the technology sector.
Companies report profit growth in Asia
In the year to date, the technology sector of the MSCI Asia ex Japan has risen by almost 20%, while the broad market has only gained 10%. At the peak in mid-July, the difference was even higher at 32% and 14% respectively.
South Korea clearly stands out in terms of earnings growth
Companies in South Korea clearly stand out in terms of profit growth compared to the previous year with 170%, while Taiwan achieved 25%. For 2025, analysts expect further profit growth of 26% and 17% in the two countries. In India, the figure is likely to be a good 12% this year and just under 19% in 2025.
Southeast Asian stainless steel HRC prices rise again
Stainless steel hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in South East Asia rose again last week. According to market analyses, this trend has been continuing for five months now. At the same time, Taiwanese stainless steel manufacturers are reporting the highest import and export prices since December 2023 and November 2023 respectively. The main reason for the rising HRC prices is the scarce availability of nickel ore and nickel pig iron (NPI) in Asia.
Nickel pig iron continues to soar
Since December 2023, nickel pig iron prices in China and Indonesia have been volatile but have risen continuously. Chinese NPI has risen by almost 13% and Indonesian NPI has increased by around 11.5%.