By staff reporter Zhang Boling

China’s major steel maker, Baoshan Iron & Steel (Baosteel), announced August 26 that it will lower most of its steel products prices in October. 

Caijing learned that Baosteel will slash the price of cold-rolled steel products by 300 yuan per ton, starting October 1. The company will also cut prices of galvanized sheet products and automotive structure steel products by 200 yuan per ton and 100 yuan per ton, respectively.  

However, the prices of hot-rolled plate and silicon steel will stay unchanged.

Wang Zhaohua, steel industry analyst from TX Investment Consulting Co. Ltd., told Caijing that “Baosteel’s price adjustment has followed the market expectations.”

China’s rising steel prices reversed in mid-June and have been declining since then. According to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce, the average price of steel products was 6,124 yuan per ton in the first half of August, which was 2.2 percent lower than the price in the second half of July.

At the same time, a weakened demand downstream has led to increasing stockpiles for steel makers, which in turn has forced them to lower prices.

According to Shan Shanghua, chairman of China Iron & Steel Association, with new production facilities starting operation in the second half this year, the supply of steel products in Chinese market may outpace the demand, which may cause more price fluctuations.

But some experts stay optimistic about the industry. Xu Xiangchun, director of the Beijing-based Lange Iron and Steel Information Research Center, told Caijing that the industry will soon see a revival, as September marks the beginning of a new sales season.

1 yuan = 14 U.S. cents