Weak Ni Stainless Price in Tokyo

Stainless cold rolled flat steel market price is weak for nickel series products around Tokyo due to slow demand. With very slow building activity, the demand started to decease for kitchen and appliances. The price is 520,000-530,000 yen per tonne for SUS304 grade products. Nickel series cold rolled flat steel inventory held by coil centers decreased by 1% to 66,392 tonnes in January from December, according to industry association. The inventory was 2.47 months for the shipment compared with normal level of 1.7-1.8 months. Nippon Steel & Sumikin Stainless Steel considers keeping the 30% output reduction for cold rolling operation until March to reduce the stock level. The market price is firm at around 250,000 yen per tonne for SUS430 grade and the price could increase more.