JFE Steel to hike steel prices for export

Japanese steelmaker JFE Holdings Inc announced today that it would hike its Asian export prices for commodity-grade steel up to 10 percent, due to the significant increase in demand. A spokesman for JFE Steel, the holding company's steel-making unit, indicated that the company's Chinese, South Korean and other Asian customers had agreed to pay $50-100/ton more in the April-June quarter. According to sources, JFE's hot-rolled coils were at $520/ton in the January-March quarter. "We have seen a sudden, strong improvement in the export market in Asia, and haven't been able to keep up with demand," said a JFE spokesman. "We don't know how far this will continue, but we hope to raise prices further in the July-September quarter."