H-Beam, Angle Price Drops by 2,000-4,000 yen/t in Tokyo

Structural steel market price decreased by 2,000-4,000 yen per tonne last week around Tokyo. The price is 92,000-93,000 yen per tonne for H-beam and 90,000 yen for equal angle, which are 34,000 yen and 33,000 yen lower than the peak in September 2008 and as low as February 2008. The price is likely to decrease more when the demand decreases due to cancel and postpone of building plans.

The largest H-beam maker, Tokyo Steel Manufacturing left the H-beam sales price unchanged at 78,000 yen per tonne. However, the market price is expected to decrease more due to slower demand.

The price decrease shows sign to slow down when ferrous scrap price increased to more than 20,000 yen per tonne. However, the structural steel buyers increase the pressure for lower price. The beam supply from other areas pressures on the transaction price around Tokyo when the beam price around Tokyo is around 10,000 yen per tonne higher than Osaka and Nagoya.