Rebar Price to Reach 70,000 yen/t in Tokyo, Osaka

Concrete reinforcing steel bar market price could reach 70,000 yen per tonne in Tokyo and Osaka in the month. The price is 68,000 yen for base size with 19 millimeters diameter around Tokyo while the price is 69,000 yen around Osaka. The rebar makers try to increase the price under firm demand. The market price recovers from temporally stay in April-June. The rebar makers around Tokyo keep 4-6 months order backlog when they plan long maintenance outage in July-September. Under the tight supply, they are reluctant to get new order and focus on shipment for existing order. The market price is 68,000 yen per tonne for direct shipment to users and smaller dealers sell the products at 72,000-73,000 yen from dealers’ inventory. The market around Osaka approaches 70,000 yen per tonne. Several makers increased the selling price by 1,000 yen for July order and the dealers try to increase the reselling price by 1,000-2,000 yen. A dealer source said the market price could reach 70,000 yen in the month with no negative factor when the demand keeps firm. The supply side players including makers and dealers pressure the market price. The user of general contractors submitted large volume order in early the year. The order was slow in April-June both in Tokyo and Osaka. The market price is expected to increase when the demand increases toward the peak season. The market price already reached 70,000 yen per tonne in Kyushu area. The price could reach the level in Osaka and Tokyo.