Firm Angle and Channel Price in Tokyo

Equal angle price is firm at 70,000 yen per tonne for product with 6 millimeters thick and 50 mm width at dealers’ selling price without freight around Tokyo. Channel price is 75,000-76,000 yen for product with 5 mm thick, 50 by 100 mm width. The makers’ hike pressures the market price. However, the dealers have trouble to increase the selling price under slow demand. The price is likely to keep the level. The demand keeps slow for small sized dealers, which have inventory and meet small sized order, while the demand is normal for trading firms, which meet larger projects. A dealer said the demand is slow again in July after the demand improved in June. The supply balance is getting tighter when distributors’ inventory keeps decreasing. Dealers are accepting price hiked products from makers, which increased the price for June order. The dealers try to increase the reselling price gradually though their sales margin is getting narrower. The dealers apparently expect the demand improves when they keep the profitability.