Brass Rod Price Keeps Strong Tone in Tokyo

The market price of brass rod is flat with potential increase in Tokyo at 815 yen per kilogram for free-cutting products with 25 millimeters diameter, at 825 yen per kg for products with 10 mm diameter and at 875 yen per kg for products with 5 mm diameter.Nippon Shindo announced on Wednesday the firm raised the purchasing price for brass turning scrap by 32 yen to 712 yen per kg, the indicator for the brass rod market price. The dealers aimed to raise the reselling prices following the hike. The most dealers planned to announce the hike to the users last week and to decide the actual price on and after September 11 under the watch-and-see mood for the copper price fluctuation.Copper settlement price at London Metal Exchange plunged down by US$ 117 to US$ 7,863 per tonne on Friday from the previous day as the brass rod dealers were concerned following the down trend of the gold market. Brass turning scrap price might decrease in Japanese market. However, the brass rod dealers keep the strong stances to raise their reselling prices even at the small range. The supply tightness also supports the market price when both of the actual and nominal demands are active.The dealers are likely to raise the reselling prices by 10-20 yen per kg as early as this week.