Rebar Makers Hike Selling Price by 1,000 yen/t in Tokyo

Small bar making electric furnace steel makers around Tokyo increase the selling price of concrete reinforcing steel bar by 1,000 yen per tonne for August order. They try to improve the price level, which is lower than other steel items for construction including H-beam, under tight supply condition. With the hike, the market price could increase to 60,000 yen per tonne for base size with 19 millimeters diameter for the first time since June 2005 after the makers increased the price by 2,000 yen in May and 1,000 yen in June 2006. Base sized rebar maker, Godo Steel and Tokyo Tekko’s joint sales force increases the rebar price by 1,000 yen per tonne for August order. The firm emphasized the market supports the hike when the rolling schedule keeps tight with 4 months of order backlog. The firm tries to increase the rebar price, which is 20,000 yen per tonne lower than H-beam. Small sized rebar maker, Sanko Steel and Mukoyama Steel Works’ sales joint venture increases the selling price by 1,000 yen per tonne for August order when the firm has limited inventory due to planned maintenance outage while the firm has 2.5-3 months of order backlog. The firm tries to improve the profitability through the hike when ferrous scrap price has uncertainty toward the autumn. Local rebar market price is around 59,000 yen per tonne for base size. The price decreased temporally to around 58,000 yen in spring after the price decreased to less than 60,000 yen in June 2005. The price recovered to 59,000 yen when demand increased for condominium and office building since April. The makers try to cover higher production cost under the tight supply lifting the market price to 60,000 yen in the autumn.