China Baosteel notifies users of price hikes-paper
SHANGHAI, June 5 (Reuters) - China's Baoshan Iron and Steel Co (600019.SS) has notified customers of steel product price hikes for the third quarter, with the amount of the increase varying for different customers, the official China Securities Journal said on Thursday.
The listed unit of Baosteel Group, China's largest steelmaker, will not post a uniform price increase, as it has in the past, the newspaper said, citing sources familiar with the situation.
The newspaper said Baosteel's sales department had confirmed that customers had been notified about price increases but declined to disclose the amount of the hikes.
Baosteel will not raise steel product prices in southwest China's earthquake-hit areas, the paper cited sources as saying.
The official Shanghai Securities News reported last week that Baosteel was likely to raise prices of both hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel coil by 300 yuan ($43) per tonne in the third quarter, quoting steel traders based on verbal indications from the steel mill.
For the second quarter, Baosteel raised the price of hot-rolled steel coil by 800 yuan to 4,842 yuan a tonne, while cold-rolled coil rose by 800 yuan to 5,596 yuan.
China's steel prices have been rising due to brisk demand from the fast-growing domestic economy and surging prices for iron ore and other inputs, but the government has expressed concern about increases in steel prices with inflation holding near 11-year highs. (Reporting by Alfred Cang; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
