SEOUL, April 26 (Reuters) - Hyundai Steel , South Korea's second-biggest steelmaker, will join its bigger rival POSCO in raising domestic prices of key products by 160,000 Korean won ($148) per tonne to offset the price surge in raw materials, industry officials said on Monday.
The long-awaited move, and the first price hike since July, comes as steelmakers at home and abroad are struggling with a margin squeeze stemming from the stubbornly high prices of steelmaking ingredients such as iron ore and coking coal.
But they find it difficult to fully pass along the costs onto customers amid slowing demand threatened by China's tightening and Japan's earthquake and tsunami.
POSCO, the world's third-biggest steel producer, on Friday reported weaker-than-expected quarterly profit, hit by its failure to raise prices enough to cover the rise in raw material costs.
The domestic price of Hyundai's hot-rolled products will rise to 1.06 million won per tonne, from 900,000 won, from products to be produced from May, industry officials said. The price of its heavy plates will go up to 1.11 million won, from 950,000 won.
"Hyundai has been notifying customers about the price hike," the sources said. Hyundai Steel declined to comment.
Hyundai Steel is set to report its first-quarter earnings on Thursday.
The long-awaited move, and the first price hike since July, comes as steelmakers at home and abroad are struggling with a margin squeeze stemming from the stubbornly high prices of steelmaking ingredients such as iron ore and coking coal.
But they find it difficult to fully pass along the costs onto customers amid slowing demand threatened by China's tightening and Japan's earthquake and tsunami.
POSCO, the world's third-biggest steel producer, on Friday reported weaker-than-expected quarterly profit, hit by its failure to raise prices enough to cover the rise in raw material costs.
The domestic price of Hyundai's hot-rolled products will rise to 1.06 million won per tonne, from 900,000 won, from products to be produced from May, industry officials said. The price of its heavy plates will go up to 1.11 million won, from 950,000 won.
"Hyundai has been notifying customers about the price hike," the sources said. Hyundai Steel declined to comment.
Hyundai Steel is set to report its first-quarter earnings on Thursday.
($1 = 1082.275 Korean Won) (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Ken Wills, sourced Reuters)
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