Chinese steel prices have hit the bottom and should rise again next year due to firm raw material prices, the chairman of China's Handan Iron and Steel Co Ltd, Liu Ru Jun, said on Sunday.
A supply glut in China, the world's largest steel producer and consumer, has been flooding the global steel market this year and weighing on steel prices despite Beijing's steps to curb its red-hot steel sector.
However, a rise in prices of raw materials, such as iron ore and coal, has been squeezing margins at global steel makers and could also affect his own company next year, Liu told Reuters.
"After Chinese market regulation came into position, Chinese steel prices have become more reasonable. But I think China's steel prices would not fall further again next year, because raw material prices, such as iron ore and fuels, are already very high," he said.
Liu was speaking at the sidelines of the International Iron and Steel Institute's annual conference in Seoul.
Handan is the 10th-largest steel maker in China, with annual capacity of 10 million tonnes.