Rebar Price Enters Increasing Phase in Tokyo

The market price of reinforcing steel bar enters the increasing phase at around 59,000 yen per tonne for base sized products with 19 millimeters diameter, at 60,000 yen for products with 13 mm diameter and at 62,000 yen for products with 10 mm diameter in Tokyo.Each electric furnace steel maker raised their rebar selling price by 1,000 yen per tonne for contracts in August, after increasing the selling price by 2,000 yen in May and by 1,000 yen in June. The price was hiked three times toward August by total 4,000 yen per tonne. The makers currently have order backlogs for 2.5-4 months and maker source said the hike was supported by the favorable demand in the market. The makers aim to pass increasing raw fuel costs on the selling prices and adjust the price gap between rebar and other steel products such as H-beam. The market price stayed low at around 58,000 yen per tonne by this spring and rebounded to around 59,000 yen per tonne thanks to the demand for building constructions. The rebar makers aim to achieve more than 60,000 yen per tonne by the price hike in August, the highest level since June 2005. Dealers are calm against the makers’ hike and raising their reselling prices steadily against general contractors. Rebar demand is strong. Reinforcing concrete construction increased by 6% to 5.16 million square meters of floor area in April-June 2006 from the same period of 2005 around Tokyo. The rebar makers seek the achievement of the price hike toward the beginning of autumn when the seasonal demand becomes active.