Taiwan’s China Steel Corporation (CSC) raised its June domestic prices for hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized products by NT$1,000 to NT$1,200 per ton last Tuesday (May 12). In response to these higher production costs, downstream steel pipe manufacturers plan to increase their own June list prices in late May.

However, end-user demand lags behind these continuous raw material price increases. Because this adjustment represents CSC’s sixth consecutive monthly price hike, downstream distributors now exhibit caution.

Market participants report a slowdown in procurement activity. Having replenished inventories during the initial price increases, distributors face stagnant end-use demand and resist further purchasing. This gap between rising mill costs and slow market consumption sets up a pricing conflict for June.