Plate Market Price Approaching 110,000 yen/t in Tokyo

Plate steel market price reached 105,000 yen per tonne for base size with with 19 millimeters thick, 5 feet width and 10 feet length around Tokyo, surging by 10,000 yen from the end of February when dealers are continuing price hike announcement in March. Some dealers are offering around 115,000 yen.Japanese integrated steel makers announced to raise plate selling price by 20,000 yen per tonne in and after April. Electric furnace steel makers also announced price hike. Dealers are trying hard to pass higher cost price on their reselling price. Some dealers started offering higher reselling price by 5,000-10,000 yen per tonne after Tokyo Steel Manufacturing raised steel selling price by 15,000 yen to 117,000 yen per tonne on 17 March.Dealers’ procurement is expected to become harder when demand for steel plate maintains strong from shipbuilding, construction machinery or industrial machinery. Makers have tried to increase output, but supply volume to market dealers might keep flat or decrease. Dealer source said plate supply volume recently decreased by over 30% year-on-year. Some dealers are increasing inventory with concerns on future unavailability.Plate sales volume increased by 6.5% to 43,194 tonnes at dealers around Tokyo in February from January, according to dealers’ association in Tokyo. Plate inventory increased by 4.1% to 61,106 tonnes. Some dealers analyzed higher sales were due to speculative demand with higher price.