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Strategies & Market Trends : China Warehouse- More Than Crockery -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (5251)	8/2/2005 1:18:39 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6370

China ministry sees steady rise in prices of production materials in H2 08.02.2005, 10:19 AM SHANGHAI (AFX) - China will continue to see a steady increase in prices of production materials during the second half of the year, though prices of some items will fall from the current high levels due to oversupply, Xinhua news agency reported, citing research notes released by the Ministry of Commerce (MoC). Coal prices will slip from the current highs but prices of certain categories, including coking coal, premium steaming coal and meager lean coal will climb slightly, the report said. Production of coal will reach 2.08 bln tons in 2005 while total demand is expected to stand at about 2.04 bln tons, it said. Average price of steel products is expected to dip slightly from 2004, the MoC said, citing oversupply concerns. The ministry predicts the country's steel output for the year will reach more than 330 mln tons, with total demand at about 340 mln tons. According to the research notes, China need to import 26 mln tons of steel in 2005. Prices of certain products, especially steel used for construction, will fall from high levels seen in the first half of this year due to increasing pressure of oversupply, the report said. Prices of building materials are expected to decline in the second half of the year as growth in demand slows down due to government measures aiming at cooling the overheating property market. For most building materials, both supply and demand will see certain growth for the full year of 2005, MoC said in its report. Prices of cement will slide further due to oversupply. Output of cement will rise slightly year-on-year to 1 bln tons or so, outstripping growth in demand. The country is expected to consume about 950 mln tons of cement in 2005. Prices of non-ferrous metals are expected to hover at high levels but the tightness in supply will ease during the rest of this year on increasing production capacity. Rapid growth in demand is stabilising, the report said. MoC said electrolytic aluminum is already in oversupply, with full-year production seen rising 8 pct to 7.20 mln tons while demand is expected to rise 15 pct to 6.80 mln tons. The price is expected to move between 15,500 and 17,000 yuan in the second half of the year. Prices of other non-ferrous metals will stay firm in the period on strong demand, although tightness in supply is also mitigating, the report said. (1 usd = 8.11 yuan) forbes.com