China's steel product prices will continue to rise in March,
according to the National Development and Reform Commission
(NDRC).
The price hike would be driven by market demand which usually
rose as the weather becomes warmer, said Wang Shuangzheng, of the
price monitoring center of the NDRC. He would not give the specific
increase band, describing it only as "a small margin".
Other factors behind the price hike included the huge demand for
steel products on the international market, which would carry
exports, and rising iron ore prices, Wang said.
The general price of major steel products on the Chinese market
was 4,055 yuan (US$506.8) per ton in February this year, up 1.74
percent from the previous month and 9.94 percent higher than
February of last year, according to the center, which monitors
steel markets in the country's 30 provinces, municipalities and
autonomous regions.
The price of steel products for building was 3,302 yuan per ton,
up 2.62 percent from January and 7.9 percent from February last
year.
China's apparent consumption of crude steel amounted to 384.05
million tons last year, accounting for 30.98 percent of the global
total.
Domestically-made steel products accounted for a record 95.82
percent of China's steel market last year, 2.61 percentage points
higher than the previous year.
China became the world's largest stainless steel producer last
year with an output of 5.3 million tons, up 67.68 percent
year-on-year.
(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2007)