The main EAF-based steel producer in Japan, Tokyo Steel, has announced another steel price increase for local customers for January shipment, but the pace of growth has increased much compared to the previous month, taking into account the global rally, low inventories and the tightening supply of raw materials.
Tokyo Steel has increased its local steel prices by JPY 10,000/mt ($97/mt) for January, against a JPY 2,000/mt ($19/mt) rise for December.
Its rebar prices have reached JPY 73,000/mt ($706/mt) ex-works, while its H-beam prices are at JPY 93,000/mt ($900/mt) ex-works. Rises in the global market and tight scrap supply have contributed to such a sharp increase, and demand from the construction industry in Japan has also been healthy.
The company has announced its price for HRC with thickness above 1.7 mm at JPY 79,000/mt ($765/mt) ex-works. “Due to the tight conditions in the domestic market, inventories of steel sheets remained at an extremely low level. In addition, it has become extremely difficult to secure the quantity of imported steel products as the offer price rises rapidly. In the future, the balance between supply and demand will become even tighter,” the company said.
Tokyo Steel expects steel prices in Japan will keep following an upward trend in the near future in line with much higher costs of production due to expensive raw material, scrap in particular.