Nippon Steel to Hike Domestic Plate Price by More Than 20,000 yen/t

Nippon Steel tries to increase the plate steel selling price for domestic buyers when the price is lower than international level. The firm apparently offers around 20,000 yen per tonne of hike for all buyers including shipbuilders, construction and industrial machinery makers, bridge makers, structural steel fabricators and distributors for April shipment or order. The firm tries to pass higher cost for raw materials under tight supply. The firm could increase the price additionally after April depending on market condition. Worldwide plate supply gets tighter due to strong demand for mineral and energy development, shipbuilding and machinery. The domestic demand is expected to increase by around 10% in 2007 from 11 million tonnes in 2007. Japanese plate supply could be more than 1 million tonnes short for the demand with strong demand from offshore users including shipbuilders in South Korea and China. The international market price reached US$ 800-900 per tonne in Asia. The domestic price is around 20,000 yen per tonne lower than the level. Nippon Steel expects the raw materials cost could increase significantly for iron ore, coal and ferroalloy for fiscal 2008 starting April while the cost up was mainly for freight and subsidiary materials in fiscal 2007. The firm sees the international price could reach US$ 900-1,000 per tonne.