Firm Cr Stainless Cold Flat Price, Weak Ni Series Price

Stainless cold rolled flat steel market price is weak at around 520,000-530,000 yen per tonne for SUS304 base size around Tokyo while the price is firm at around 245,000-250,000 yen for SUS430. The demand is slow for nickel series products while chrome series demand keeps firm. Japanese largest stainless maker, Nippon Steel & Sumikin Stainless Steel increased the base price both for nickel and chrome series stainless products for the month. A dealer source said the chrome series hike is reasonable but the nickel series no rationale. The dealer said the firm should increase the base price in first half of 2007. Nippon Steel & Sumikin Stainless increased the chrome series price by 20,000 yen per tonne and increased the alloy price to reflect higher chrome price. The alloy price should increase for March and the dealers try to secure materials in February before price increase. Nickel series products demand is still low level in the dealers’ market. A processor said the sales are flat and the market is still dull in February while the stock keeps decreasing slightly.