POSCO to Keep Aug Stainless Steel Prices at July Levels

SEOUL, July 27 -- South Korea's POSCO <005490.KS>, the world's No.3 steelmaker, said in a statement on Tuesday that it would maintain prices of major stainless steel products for August at July levels to encourage local market demand.

POSCO last month lowered prices of major stainless steel prices for July to narrow the price gap with imports, setting prices of its hot-rolled stainless steel products at 3.35 million won and cold-rolled products at 3.62 million won.

"Despite cost burdens, POSCO decided to keep stainless steel prices unchanged from July," the statement said.

"As the market's consensus is that prices have hit bottom, we expect demand to recover soon, especially with low inventories at clients."

The price of nickel <MNI3>, a key ingredient in stainless steel, on the London Metal Exchange, has strengthened about 5 percent since the beginning of this month to above $20,000 per tonne.