Japan Common Steel Orders Increase by 2.9% in April

Order reception volume at Japanese steel makers for common steel products increased by 2.9% to 6.708 million tonnes in April from a year ago, announced Japan Iron & Steel Federation on Monday. Orders increased by 6.1% to 4.69 million tonnes for domestic demand and decreased by 4.1% to 1.884 million tonnes for export.Orders for manufacturing industry increased by 18.8% for industrial machine, by 4.3% for automobile and by 13% for shipbuilding. Moreover, orders increased by 5.6% for building construction and by 6.1% for civil engineering. Orders increased by 7.3% tonnes for wholesalers.