Oji Steel to Hike Flat, Square Bar by 15,000-20,000 yen/t

Oji Steel announced on Tuesday the firm increases the selling price by 15,000 yen per tonne for flat and square steel bar for distributors for June order while the firm increases the price by 15,000-20,000 for contract users. The firm tries to improve the profitability through the hike under higher raw materials cost. The firm tried to find the cost for raw materials and energy for May order after the hike for April order. However, the ferrous scrap surges while the cost keeps increasing for ferroalloy, heavy oil and refractory. The firm decided the hike when the cost up is much more than the own cost cut effort. The firm keeps reducing the supply by 20% from January-March level under the slower demand activity.