Flat Sheet Steel Price around Tokyo

Market price of sheet steel is flat around Tokyo. The price is 67,000-69,000 yen per tonne for hot rolled flat steel, 75,000-77,000 yen for pickling steel and 81,000-82,000 yen for cold rolled steel. The price is turning point under different views by makers and distributors though the construction demand is firm. Distributors inventory is getting fewer and they have some stock out size recently with lower domestic sheet inventory and lower import. With the better supply balance, coil centers try to increase the reselling price with expectation of higher price. However, the demand is still slow in the distributors’ market. Smaller sized distributors cannot pass the higher cost price on the reselling price. The distributors are suffered from smaller margin under the smaller shipment and lower profitability. The market price depends on the supply and demand balance when distributors and makers have different views on the market though the construction demand recovers.