China Steel Corp (CSC), the nation’s largest steelmaker, yesterday announced it would keep domestic prices for most products unchanged for June in a move to hedge against the risk of falling demand in the wake of the March 11 earthquake in Japan.

The move was made despite an uptrend in global steel prices amid rising material costs and increasing demand — stemming from inventory restocking — in the second quarter, the company said in a statement, citing the analysis of industry researcher World Steel Dynamics.

Like our global industry peers, CSC is facing the pressure of increases of between US$150 and US$170 per tonne in raw material costs in the first half of this year, which will give room for the company to hike prices [in the future],” the Kaohsiung-based firm said.

Global coal prices are approaching their all-time high amid rising oil prices and growing demand from China, CSC said.

The steelmaker said that its decision to keep prices steady was part of an effort to help its customers avoid tougher competition because of the strengthening New Taiwan dollar against the US dollar.

In addition, there were concerns about softening demand for its customers’ products in Japan after the earthquake, which would be a double blow to customers, it said.

The steelmaker only raised the price for its zinc-coated coils by NT$800 a tonne, according to the statement. The increase was far less than the previous increase of NT$3,500 a tonne for coils to be delivered this month and next.

CSC’s latest pricing apparently matched the moves taken by its global rivals. US steelmakers kept this month’s prices for hot rolled coils and cold rolled coils unchanged — at historic highs — because of high material costs, according to the company’s statement.

In Asia, steel prices were stable, it said. China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel Co slightly trimmed prices for next month, while Wuhan Iron & Steel Co’s steel prices remained unchanged, CSC said.

The company, which enjoys a 50 percent market share in Taiwan, sells about three-quarters of its production to local steel firms, while exporting a quarter of its output.

The firms’ share price fell 0.43 percent to NT$34.85 yesterday, beating the TAIEX, which lost 0.96 percent.