Firm Plate Steel Price in Tokyo

Plate steel market price is firm at around 120,000 yen per tonne for standard size with 19 millimeters thick, 5 feet width and 10 feet length and at around 140,000 yen for cut processed materials at dealers’ sites around Tokyo. The price is increasing despite of the slow demand when the dealers try to pass higher cost price after the makers’ hike. The domestic supply is very tight despite of the full capacity operations by the makers due to strong demand for shipbuilding and construction machinery. Nippon Steel announced 10,000 yen per tonne of additional hike for distributors for August-September shipment to cover higher cost for raw materials and energy. The distributors’ shipment is very slow due to low level building starts especially for low- and middle-rise building. The dealers’ inventory, however, decreases due to lower supply by the makers. The dealers try to seek higher reselling price aggressively when they expect the supply could decrease and the makers’ price could increase more.