Rising Japan Sheet Steel Export Price

Japanese integrated steel makers increase the sheet steel export price for July-September aggressively. They realized US$ 200-300 per tonne hike for cold rolled flat steel and coated steel for appliances makers in Asia after they increased the hot coil price to FOB US$ 1,000 for South Korean rerollers. Japanese steels are getting US$ 250-300 hike for no oriented electrical steel export. The export price level is US$ 1,000 per tonne for hot coil, US$ 1,100 for cold coil and US$ 1,200 for coated steel in Asia. The price is pushed up by around US$ 500 in January-June under surging raw materials cost including iron ore, coking coal, ferrous scrap, ferroalloy and ocean freight. The strong demand supports the higher price along with limited availability from Asian makers. The sheet steel supply is expected to get tighter when Chinese steel makers try to serve domestic market after major earthquake by cutting export volume.