Sheet Steel Price is Strong in Tokyo

Sheet steel market price is strong tone at 70,000-71,000 yen per tonne for hot rolled sheet, at 70,000-72,000 yen for pickling steel and at 78,000-80,000 yen for cold rolled sheet around Tokyo.Deale source said the demand for building construction is recovering slowly. Meanwhile, large dealer said the demand would hit bottom in January-March. Japanese integrated maker source said automobile output in Japan is expected to achieve at 11.8 million cars and Knock down set output is expected to be 8.8 million sets unexpectedly.The supply and demand is becoming tighter every day. The inventory of pickling sheet and cold rolled sheet is running short in some sizes due to strong demand for automobile. Dealers and coil centers are increasing the selling price when Tokyo Steel Manufacturing or Nippon Steel raised the selling price of some sheet products. In this spring, Japanese integrated steel makers are expected to raise the selling price of sheet due to rising material price.