Japan Electric Wire Makers to Hike VVF Cable Price

Japanese electric wire makers hike the selling price of vinyl insulated vinyl sheathed flat type cable (VVF), which is major products for building application, for small sized distributors to 50 yen per meter for 2 core 600 volt VVF with 1.6 millimeters of diameter compared with current 45 yen. They try to pass higher cost for raw materials, especially for copper conductor. However, the buyers are likely to take time to accept the higher price under oversupply. The VVF price is estimated to be 50-51 yen per meter based on 1 million yen per tonne of official copper ingot price. However, the electric wire makers couldn’t pass the higher cost due to unfavorable supply situation. The price to distributors could reach around 48 yen per meter under the market. With the higher copper ingot price, the price to distributors could increase higher. VVF buyers increased the purchase volume in April with expectation for higher price. Japanese electric wire makers’ shipment increased to 6,600 tonnes in April compared with averaged 5,000 tonnes. The distributors apparently have lower priced inventory. An electric wire maker source said the shipment is recovering in July compared with May and June. Another maker source said VVF shipment recovers from the overstocked inventory.