Steel Strip

Nippon Steel plans to raise prices for steel sheet and plate by 10%-20%, reflecting the higher cost of iron ore, according to the Nikkei Weekly, a business newspaper in Tokyo. The steel price increase is targeted for April and is keyed to steel mill products used in automobiles and major appliances, ships and machinery. The [...]

LUXEMBOURG (AP) - Europe’s two biggest steelmakers, ArcelorMittal SA and ThyssenKrupp AG, were upbeat about weathering any global downturn this year, saying Wednesday they expected strong steel demand and higher prices to cover soaring costs.
Chinese efforts to hold back cheap steel exports and recent stockpile selloffs in North America and Europe are expected to boost [...]

The world’s largest steel company, Arcelor Mittal, has reported an annual profit of $10.36bn (£5.3bn) for 2007.
The results - in line with analysts’ expectations - are the first full-year figures since the merger of Arcelor and Mittal Steel in June 2006.
The firm had predicted robust global steel markets would boost its results.
Chief executive [...]

Germany’s steel trade union on Tuesday rejected an offer from employers of a 3.5 percent wage hike with a contract duration of at least 16 months for workers in the north-west of the country.
Workers have already staged temporary stoppages in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Bremen involving around 10,000 people.
IG Metall said [...]

In a rapidly strengthening market for steel, Corus Strip Products UK will increase the prices of its flat-rolled products from 1 April by £80-£106 per tonne, depending upon specification.
Inventories are low and global demand for steel is strong. Adam Smith, Commercial Director for Corus Strip Products UK, said, "The de-stocking we have seen in [...]