Flat Sheet Steel Price in Tokyo

Sheet steel market price is flat at 68,000-69,000 yen per tonne for hot rolled steel around Tokyo. The price is also flat at 74,000-76,000 yen for pickling steel and 80,000-82,000 yen for cold rolled steel. The price is likely to keep the level under the balanced supply. The dealers’ inventory of hot, cold and coated steel sheet keeps around 4 million tonnes level for months. The supply balance keeps the normal level with firm demand for automobile. However, the distributors’ market experiences slow demand and the dealers’ competition is getting severe. The hot rolled steel market price stays at less than 70,000 yen per tonne after the continuous increase since late 2006. The price is also peaked for pickling steel and cold rolled steel. Japanese interest expects the supply balance keeps normal when the import will be low level after export cut effort by Chinese government. A trading firm source said the market condition is not so bad to decrease the price. The dealers try to keep the price level.