China Steel doesn't plan to cut fourth-quarter prices

China Steel Corp., Taiwan's largest steelmaker, doesn't plan to lower prices for domestic customers in the fourth quarter because demand from manufacturers is holding up. Purchases from customers, such as shipbuilders, "is not bad" amid a shortage of steel in Taiwan, spokesman Chung Le-min said yesterday from Kaohsiung, where the company is based, by phone.

Korean and Chinese shipbuilders, the world's two largest makers, are raising consumption of steel as their order backlogs stretch into the next decade. That's helping China Steel weather a slowdown in growth in demand from builders.