ThyssenKrupp Steel AG recently announced it would increase its prices by €20/t for hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated products as well as non-grain-oriented electrical steel sold under quarterly contracts. The increases will become effective on January 1, 2006.

The increase is being implemented against a re-stabilized Western European market for flat-rolled carbon steel. The company says that steel customers have largely cleared their inventories and imports from outside the EU have eased.

ThyssenKrupp Steel also says it still has some catching up to do to compensate for the cost pressure affecting raw material and energy purchases. Significant price rises are to be implemented effective January 1, 2006 when renegotiating long-term contracts with major customers, as hardly any allowance has yet been made in this area for the high cost increases over the course of the current year.