Firm Sheet Steel Price in Tokyo

Sheet steel market price is likely to rise around Tokyo. Coil centers and dealers are starting to raise reselling prices when higher price products are arriving in July and imported sheet price is surging. The market price is at around 102,000-103,000 yen per tonne for hot rolled flat steel, at 106,000-109,000 for pickling flat steel and at 112,000-115,000 yen for cold rolled flat steel at dealers’ site around Tokyo.Dealers’ sheet shipment maintains slow. A dealer source said the sale volume is decreasing by 20% from the usual level mainly for building materials. Japanese integrated steel makers raised selling price by 20,000 yen per tonne for April shipment and by 10,000 yen for July shipment. Dealers are starting price negotiations with the users. The negotiations seem hard due to slower demand. Supply and demand balance is loose especially for surface treatment sheet, though the supply is relatively tight for cold-rolled sheet. The market price of surface treatment sheet is lower than cold-rolled sheet price in some areas.South Korean makers increased cold-rolled steel sheet price to over 130,000 yen per tonne. The price is significantly higher than Japanese makers’ selling price for July shipment.With these factors, dealers are offering price hike by about 5,000 yen per tonne within July.