Weak Sheet Steel Price in Tokyo

Steel sheet market price became cheaper around Tokyo. Dealers and coil centers turned to weak stances when the demand weakened due to slower shipment in and after August. Another factor is sharp decline of steel sheet import price from China and South Korea when Asian steel market price stays low.

Sheet steel market price is 103,000-104,000 yen per tonne for hot rolled flat steel, 104,000-106,000 yen for pickling steel and 113,000-117,000 yen for cold-rolled steel sheet around Tokyo. These prices decreased by 1,000-2,000 yen per tonne from the end of September.

The demand is slow. A dealer source said their shipment maintains slow after August and became even worse in September. Tokyo Steel Manufacturing, Japanese major steel maker, decreased the selling price of steel sheet by total 20,000 yen per tonne in September and October due to downward ferrous scrap. Users consider that makers may more decrease the selling price.

The import steel sheet price is significantly decreasing. China Steel, Taiwanese major steel maker, didn’t change the selling price for November-January while Chinese and South Korean makers are offering cheaper price at over 100,000 yen per tonne. Both makers offered 130,000 yen per tonne in August.

The import product prices decreased by 20,000-30,000 yen per tonne from the recent peak. The price is lower than Japanese integrated steel makers’ price. Especially, Korean makers aggressively export when domestic demand is remarkably weakening due to cheaper won. Meanwhile, Japanese dealers’ buying intention is low when Japanese steel sheet inventory increased to 4.29 million tonnes at the end of August. A large dealer source said the import volume may increase if the import products price decreases.