Steel Sheet Price Keeps Flat in Tokyo

Sheet steel market price is flat at 68,000-69,000 yen per tonne for hot rolled sheet, at 74,000-76,000 yen per tonne for pickling sheet and at 80,000-82,000 yen per tonne for cold sheet around Tokyo.Steel sheet shipment is slow among the dealers. Dealer source pointed out steel sheet market comes under the influence of low building construction demand or the advancement of integrated purchasing by large users. Other dealer source said the demand may be totally decreasing.Meanwhile, steel sheet makers keep active shipment. Market observations much differ between steel sheet makers and dealers. Integrated steel makers examine price hike for dealers after they raised the selling price for re-rollers.Japanese sheet steel inventory keeps the level at around 4 million tonnes. Steel sheet import seems not to increase soon. The supply and demand are expected to maintain the balance for a while. However, the market shows weak mood. The market condition is severe for the dealers.