BAO Steel says stainless price increasing
China’s largest steelmaker, said stainless steel sales improved every month this year on the preceding period because of rising demand from the petrochemical and power industries.
Pudong International Trading Co., a major trading arm, sold 104,000 metric tons of HR products in H1, Baosteel said in a statement on the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission’s Web site. Of that quantity, direct sales to consumers surged 63% to a record from a year ago, according to the statement.
Benchmark Chinese prices of the rust-proof metal gained 27% in the past three months as the government implemented a 4trl yuan ($585bln) stimulus package. Shanghai-based Baosteel is China’s second-biggest producer of stainless steel after Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel Co.
HR stainless steel sheets, with a standard 8% nickel content, rose 27% since March 27 to $2,265 a ton as of June 19 at Chinese ports, industry publication Metal Bulletin said.
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