Firm Stainless Bar Price in Tokyo

Stainless steel bar price is firm at 500,000 yen per tonne for SUS304 grade and 780,000 yen for SUS315 around Tokyo. The price is expected to keep firm when the dealers try to pass the higher cost price on the reselling price. The demand is firm in the distributors’ market and grows from the level in a year earlier. However, some distributors said the demand in the distributors’ market is still unstable while the demand for contract user is firm. Some of the demand is shifting from nickel series stainless to chrome series due to high nickel price. The nickel series materials’ market price is firm when distributors’ inventory of nickel series materials decreased from the beginning of the year and the demand keeps firm under active capital expenditure by private sector. The stainless makers cannot meet the on time delivery for distributors to ship for contract users despite of the full capacity operations. The supply is getting tighter. Nickel cash price is around US$ 14.8 per pound on November 1 at London Metal Exchange. Some sources in stainless maker concern potential plunge of the LME price could impact on the stainless industry.