S.Korea Dongkuk cuts rebar steel prices by 11 pct
SEOUL, Dec 1 (Reuters) - South Korea's third-largest steelmaker Dongkuk Steel Mill (001230.KS) said on Monday it would cut prices of rebar by 11 percent to bring prices of its construction steel in line with that made by a rival.
Its local peer Hyundai Steel (004020.KS) said on Friday it would cut prices of rebar by 11 percent, its second price cut in a month, due to weakening demand from the construction sector and falling prices of raw materials such as scrap metal. [ID:nSEO267037]
Dongkuk said on Monday it would slash rebar prices by the same amount to 821,000 won ($559.2) per tonne effective from Monday, also its second price cut for the product in a month.
But the company said it had no plans to reduce prices of heavy plates for shipbuilding, the industry least affected by the spreading economic crisis thanks to multi-year order backlogs, although the sector is seeing new orders slow to a trickle.
Demand growth for steel from the shipbuilding sector in Asia, home to the world's largest shipbuilders, is likely to slow to 19 percent next year from 49 percent in 2008, still far better than auto industry, where demand for steel may decline by 7 percent next year, according to Goldman Sachs. (Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)
