Japanese steel producer Tokyo Steel has increased pickled and oiled sheet prices by JPY 3,000/mt ($27/mt) for September amid short supply and active demand, while leaving all other major product prices in the local market stable from last month.
The new price level for pickled and oiled sheets is JPY 126,000/mt ($1.152/mt) ex-works, the company stated. “In the domestic market, the inventory level of steel sheets is still low, and some grades are in short supply,” Tokyo Steel said, adding that manufacturing costs will be at a high level in the future, and this has also been behind the recent price increase for pickled and oiled sheets.
For other major flat steel products, prices for September are unchanged. In particular, prices for HRC with thickness above 1.7 mm have remained at JPY 110,000/mt ($1,006/mt) ex-works. The company will keep a close watch on the demand-supply balance. “It is expected that the production activities of manufacturing industries such as automobiles, industrial machinery and shipbuilding will become more active toward the second half of the year, that the supply-demand balance will continue to be tight, and market conditions will remain firm,” the producer stated.
Rebar and H-beam prices from Tokyo Steel have remained at JPY 86,000/mt ($787/mt) ex-works and JPY 106,000/mt ($970/mt) ex-works, respectively, after the rise of JPY 3,000/mt last month.
$1= JPY 109.31
