TOKYO -- The price for hot-rolled coil steel has hit a 14-month low in East Asia as demand for the material, used to make a range of products from automobiles to home appliances, takes a hit from China's zero-COVID strategy.

The standard 1.6 mm-thick coil is now priced at around $780 per ton in cost-and-freight contracts, down 3% from a week prior and 19% from a recent high of $960 in mid-April.

The material serves as an indicator for exports and other economic activity in Japan, South Korea, mainland China and Taiwan. Its recent plunge stems from falling demand in China, where zero-COVID restrictions, including the monthslong lockdown in Shanghai, have dampened production of cars, appliances and more.

Inventories are piling up in the meantime. According to the China Iron and Steel Association, large steelmakers had roughly 30% more inventory in early June than a year earlier.

Though Shanghai lifted its lockdown on June 1, its manufacturing sector has yet to fully bounce back. The glut of steel has led to cheaper Chinese exports of hot-rolled coil.

Indian steelmakers have also reduced prices after the government in late May increased export tariffs on certain steel materials.

Many market watchers expect low prices to persist for some time.

"The offer price for Asian exports constantly fall below the $800 mark per ton," according to one steel-trading company.