Baosteel raises prices for flat steel products for the fourth consecutive time

Baoshan Iron & Steel Co (Baosteel), a subsidiary of the world’s leading steel producer China Baowu Steel Group, is raising domestic prices for several key flat steel products for June orders. Specifically, the price of hot-rolled coil (HRC) will increase by $14.7/t (100 yuan per ton). This was reported by Mysteel.

This marks the fourth consecutive monthly price increase for Baosteel’s main products since March. The June adjustment is driven by a combination of factors: a moderate improvement in demand, stable supply, and, above all, rising raw material costs.

Baosteel’s net profit for the first quarter of 2026 fell by 8.6% year-over-year to $326.3 million. The main factors putting pressure on the company were geopolitical instability in the Middle East and the ongoing crisis in China’s real estate sector:

• energy crisis: the conflict involving Iran caused a sharp spike in oil and natural gas prices, which directly impacted the cost of steel production;
• logistics: disruptions to shipping routes in the region led to delays in raw material deliveries and a significant increase in freight costs;
• domestic market: the weakness of the Chinese construction sector continues to limit the company’s earnings growth potential.

As reported by GMK Center, Baosteel produced 13.2 million tons of steel and 12.2 million tons of pig iron in the first quarter. The company’s steel exports rose by 6.8% year-on-year to 6.5 million tons. During this period, the company received nearly 2 million tons of foreign orders for steel products, compared to 1.55 million tons in the same period of 2025. In total, Baosteel plans to produce 51.5 million tons of steel and 48.5 million tons of pig iron in 2026.