Sheet Steel Price is Strong in Tokyo

Sheet steel market price is strong tone at 70,000-71,000 yen per tonne for hot rolled sheet, at 70,000-72,000 yen for pickling steel and at 78,000-80,000 yen for cold rolled sheet around Tokyo.The demand for specific users which is mainly automobile makers keeps good situation while for dealers which deliver for building construction remains stagnant. Especially, building construction material market is expected to hit bottom in January-March. However, dealer source said the demand for building material is increasing slowly.Pickled steel sheet and cold rolled steel sheet inventory is being short with some size due to strong demand for automobile. Dealers will increase the selling price actively when Japanese integrated steel makers are expected to raise the sheet price by a large margin due to rising material price.