Japan Official Lead Price Decreases after a Month

Concrete reinforcing steel bar price is flat at around 59,000 yen per tonne for base size with 19 millimeters of diameter around Tokyo. The price is 1,000 yen higher for product with 13 mm and 3,000 yen higher for 10 mm product than base size. The supply is likely to keep tight when local rebar makers plan 7-10 days maintenance outage in July-September. Rebar output will decrease to around 300,000 tonnes per month around Tokyo in July-September compared with 330,000-350,000 tonnes in April-June. The makers plan regular maintenance and renewal of old facilities. The rebar lead time could be longer from current 1.5-2 months. Local rebar makers try to increase the price level while the buyers of general contractors resist the move. The makers want to hike the selling price to 60,000 yen per tonne despite of the resistance. The makers try to cover higher cost for ferrous scrap, other materials and energy.