Structural Carbon Steel Price Keeps Flat in Tokyo

Market price of carbon steel for machine structural use is flat at 100,000-120,000 yen per tonne for carbon steel (SC) and at 125,000-127,000 yen for chrome-molybdenum steel (SCM) around Tokyo. The demand keeps steady.Daido Steel and Aichi Steel, Japanese major special steel makers, announced output reduction mainly for distributors in April-May. The market inventory is expected to decrease. The market price can become upward with special steel makers’ price hike in last month and output reduction in April-May.SC and SCM inventory decreased at dealers’ sites around Tokyo in February from a month earlier, while dealers’ sales increased by 8.5% for SC and by 5.2% for SCM, according to special steel dealers’ association.Dealer source said the market inventory has been adjusted since the beginning of this year and is currently approaching the moderate level. The market price is expected to rise next month.