Japan Steel Makers to Raise Sheet and Plate Export Prices by US$ 150/t for Jul-Sep

Japanese integrated steel makers will start price negotiations of steel sheet export for July-September shipment soon. Steel makers would offer the hike for steel plate by US$ 100-150 per tonne when raw material prices are expected to continue rising in July-September. JFE Steel has already announced price hike of exporting plate by US$ 200 to FOB US$ 900 per tonne to South Korean shipbuilders.

Chinese economy seems temporarily braked when the government tightened the monetary policy. Real estate and construction investment is slowing, and car sales decreased in April. However, Japanese steel maker source said this is just a rebound of previous bubble economy and Chinese growth continues.

Order volume from offshore users keeps high for cold rolled sheet and electrogalvanizing sheet. Some makers cannot meet the all orders and regulate the order receipts. Supply and demand balance is tight. Steel plate demand is also strong for energy industry, pipe line, construction machine or industrial machine.

Japanese steel makers are raising the plate export price to FOB US$ 900 per tonne against construction machine makers and FOB US$ 1,000 per tonne for pile lines for June shipment. The plate price is expected to maintain upward.