Slow Sheet Steel Market in Tokyo

Sheet steel market slows down around Tokyo. The dealers’ shipment drops when the buyers resist higher offer after the buyers built inventory by May. Tokyo Steel Manufacturing increased the sheet steel price by 2,000 yen per tonne. However, the dealers try to find the market trend when Tokyo Steel’s price is much higher than integrated steel makers’ price. Local dealers’ reselling price is 100,000-103,000 yen per tonne for hot rolled flat steel around Tokyo. The buyers try to minimize the purchase volume for immediate use in June, according to dealers’ sources. Slow building market reduces the actual demand and some building plans are canceled due to higher steel prices. Some distributors dealing Tokyo Steel’s sheet and imported sheet try to increase the reselling price more to improve the profitability while other dealers try to find the market move under slow demand. The market price is likely to be temporally peak with uncertainty.