Dongkuk Steel Mill Co fell to the lowest level in more than six weeks in Seoul trading after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its stock rating to sell, saying the company’s earnings growth may slow.

South Korea’s third largest steelmaker lost 6.8% to KRW 39,600 on the Korea Exchange, heading for the lowest close since March 31 and becoming the worst performer on the MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index.

Mr Kim Sun Hong a company spokesman said that Goldman Sachs reduced its recommendation on Dongkuk from neutral, forecasting a 9.5% decline in earnings per share in 2012. Dongkuk expects a positive impact on earnings from investments made in recent years.

Goldman Sachs analysts led by Rajeev Das said that “Dongkuk will be unable to sustain its recent higher plate prices and orders as Japanese supply comes back online.” The analysts also cited a very weak domestic construction market.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)