NSSC to Hike Ni Series Stainless by 40,000 yen/t

Nippon Steel & Sumikin Stainless Steel (NSSC) announced on Monday the firm increases selling price of nickel series stainless cold rolled coil by 40,000 yen to 615,000 yen per tonne for cut edge coil with 2 millimeters and less thick for domestic distributors for March order to cover surging nickel cost. The firm tries to improve the profitability through the hike for 15 months in a row. The price increases to 625,000 yen for items with more than 2 mm thick. The firm increases plate price by 40,000 yen. The firm increases the base selling price of chrome series stainless cold rolled sheet by 10,000 yen to 215,000 yen per tonne under strong demand at home and abroad. The chrome series stainless price hike is 3 months in a row.The nickel series cold rolled stainless flat steel price increases to more than double from 300,000 yen per tonne in January 2006. Higher nickel price lifted the price though the base price increased by only 20,000 yen per tonne. Nickel price is US$ 20.43 per pound at London Metal Exchange. The price increased to record US$ 20.66 on Thursday. The averaged monthly price is more than US$ 20 in March and the price is likely not to decrease under the extremely low level inventory, which decreased by 90% in a year.