Tokyo’s Acid-pickled Steel Sheet Price to be Weakening

The acid-pickled steel sheet price in the Tokyo area, Eastern Japan, is weakening at 77,000-78,000 yen per tonne for 2.3 millimeters/3×6 feet. Though the demand is firm, there remains the surplus in town. Car production will reach its peak in January-March. The strong demand is maintained in the fields of automobile, truck, and manufacturers. The level of coil centers’ operation is also high. All-purpose acid-pickled steel sheets are procured in haste. Further, there is little will to store the products to the second and third delivery agents. On the other hand, acid-pickled steel sheet demand in town is weak. Though tightness of the product supply for special use such as auto parts continues, the other products’ periods of delivery are shortened. The supply-demand of cold-and-hot rolled steel sheets which are general-purpose is easing due to increase of their inventories. So the market is stagnant.