Weak Sheet Steel Price in Tokyo

Sheet steel market price is weak at around 74,000-77,000 yen per tonne for hot rolled flat steel around Tokyo. The price is likely to decrease more when the dealers try to liquidate the inventory after Tokyo Steel Manufacturing reduced the selling price by 10,000 yen for March order.

The price is 75,000-78,000 yen per tonne for pickling steel, 92,000-94,000 yen for cold rolled flat steel, 98,000-101,000 yen for hot rolled based coated steel and 108,000-110,000 yen for cold rolled based coated steel. Some transaction is already less than 70,000 yen for hot rolled flat steel and less than 90,000 yen for cold rolled flat steel.

The dealers’ shipment and the coil centers’ operation are very slow. Some coil centers stop operation for some lines and conduct layoff. The dealers and processors try to liquidate the high priced inventory when they expect the demand will keep low level for a while. However, under the slow demand, the inventory adjustment could take longer time than expected.