China Steel Corporation said that it would hold domestic prices steady for March 2012 from February levels.

CSC said that “In spite of a recent rebound in global steel prices, China Steel will keep March prices of all steel products unchanged to help its downstream customers maintain their global competitiveness.”

CSC said its decision also aimed to cope with weak demand from downstream customers because of the week long Lunar New Year holiday, which begins on January 23.

CSC lowered domestic prices for this month and next month’s contracts by an average of 7.08% or TWD 1,756 (USD 58.53) per tonne, to reflect sluggish demand and falling prices.

The Taiwanese firm’s move also followed in the footsteps of China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel Co and Wuhan Iron & Steel Co, which announced earlier this month that they would keep steel prices mostly flat for next month’s contracts as prices have shown signs of hitting the bottom.

Moreover, steel mills in the US and Europe have begun raising prices to reflect increasing costs, while their peers in Japan and South Korea have also increased their export prices for next month

(Sourced from taipeitimes.com)