Flat H-Beam Price in Tokyo

H-beam market price is flat at 75,000 yen per tonne for products with 200 by 100 millimeters width at dealers’ sites without freight in Tokyo. The market is in the posture mood before summer holidays in mid August. H-beam makers are reducing the order reception and the products arrival is little at dealers. The price is expected to keep the level when the supply and demand are balanced. H-beam shipment increased to 30,034 tonnes at the end of July at distributors dealing Nippon Steel’s products around Tokyo, which recovered to 30,000 tonnes for the first time in 7 months. However, the inventory at the distributors was 64,784 tonnes and the inventory to shipment ratio was 2.14 months of high level. The shipment was still lower by 14% from July 2005.The makers show the intention to continue the reduction of the order reception. The supply could be expected to become tighten if the shipment keeps the current level at least. Some trading houses are seeking higher reselling prices but other distributors are not. The market price is unlikely to change for a while.