On February 24, Indonesia Tsingshan had informed customers of a US$15/ton hike, adding the US$30/ton increase to Taiwan stainless steel mills before the Chinese New Year holidays. The price adjustment has backed up the Taiwan stainless steel mills for the action to raise prices as well.

In February, the price of 304 grade stainless steel has been raised by US$45/ton, which gives a firm back up for the mills to bring up a new list price in March.

The price of stainless steel in Taiwan has been rising for the past three months, with potential for further increases in March. However, downstream buyers remain cautious about the outlook, as the market has yet to show signs of warming up.

Price upward adds confidence to the market, but the downstream service centers worry not enough orders to consume the high cost stock and hope the price can rise slightly.

In general, the stainless steel price in Taiwan is sustainable for the time being.