Steel Sheet Market Price Maintains Weak, Tokyo

Steel sheet market price is weak around Tokyo. Wholesalers’ shipment keeps low for main application fields, constructions and machines. The wholesalers are in severe price competition. The market price shows a sign to hit the ceiling even for cold rolled sheet and surface treated sheet despite of the tight supply and demand balance.

The current market price of base sized products is 60,000-63,000 yen per tonne for hot rolled sheet, 64,000-66,000 yen per tonne for pickled sheet, 75,000-78,000 yen for cold rolled sheet. The price is 88,000-90,000 yen for hot rolled based electrogalvanized steel and 96,000-98,000 yen for cold rolled based electrogalvanized steel.

The dealers’ shipment maintains slow. A major distributor around Tokyo said their shipment has worsened month by month since August. The operating rate is likely to reach 80% level of the peak at coil centers whose main customer is automobile industry. However, the demand keeps stagnant from other demand fields, especially construction market.

The coil centers and distributors are in very severe price competition. As to hot rolled sheet, the wholesalers’ reselling price is impacted by the customers’ strong price cut request.

Tokyo Steel Manufacturing, Japanese largest electric furnace steel maker, announced the firm lowers its selling price by 5,000 yen per tonne for hot coil and by 7,000 yen per tonne for cut sheet effective for November shipment. In addition, imported steel sheet price turned downward and Asian market price is declining. The steel sheet market price would decrease with these negative factors.