Imported Sheet Price Continues Decreasing in Japan

Japanese imported steel sheet price is decreasing. A Japanese dealer source said the offer price by South Korean re-roller is currently less than 100,000 yen per tonne for cold rolled sheet and below 110,000 yen per tonne for electro galvanized sheet, down by about 10,000 yen compared with October. Domestic inventory of hot, cold and coated sheet held by Japanese makers, dealers and coil centers was 4.41 million tonnes at the end of September. It is unclear whether dealers and distributors procure cheaper imports under the overstock condition. Domestic sheet price is impacted by cheaper imports as well as by stagnant market.

Hanwa, Japanese major steel dealer, announced sheet inventory keeps increasing at Japanese quays since July 2008. The quay inventory around Tokyo and Osaka totaled 200,000 tonnes in July, 208,000 tonnes in August and 217,000 tonnes in September.

On the other hand, Japanese import of hot, cold and coated sheet is decreasing. The import totaled 280,000 tonnes in July, 249,000 tonnes in August and 221,000 tonnes in September. The quay inventory seems increasing due to demand weakness.

Sheet makers in South Korea and China are trying to increase export bound for Japan when market conditions turned worse in their countries and Japanese yen became stronger against other currencies. The imported sheet price is now lower than Japanese integrated steels’ price. The makers and distributors are concerned that cheaper import may increase more and impact domestic market.