Firm Plate Price in Tokyo

Plate steel price is firm at 80,000 yen per tonne for product with 19 millimeters thick, 5 feet width and 10 feet length around Tokyo. The cut processed plate price is more than 95,000 yen. The price is expected to keep firm when distributors and shearing processors try to increase the selling price under tight supply. Steel plate supply keeps tight. The demand keeps firm for manufacturing industry such for shipbuilding. The demand for building construction is expected to recover in spring. Electric furnace steel maker source said building construction related demand was slow in January-February when some users delayed their orders. Domestic plate makers’ rolling schedule is tight. Dealers’ inventory is short in some sizes. Domestic plate inventory is expected to increase by 3.7% to 461,996 tonnes at the end of January from last month, according to Japan Steel Plate Shearing Industrial Guild. Some steel plate processors have an order. However, other processors don’t have an order under influence of purchase integration by large users. Dealers doubt gnaws each other. This dealers’ mentality is seemed to delay the increasing of cutting sheet market price.