Japanese Electric Furnaces to Hike Shaped Steels in October

Osaka Steel, Japanese major electric furnace steel maker, announced on Monday the firm raises the selling price of equal angle, non-equal angle and channel steel by 5,000 yen per tonne for October orders when ferrous scrap price is rising and electric power charge is forecasted to surge. The demand seems hitting bottom from civil engineering and building construction. Osaka Steel continues cautious output control in balance with actual demand.

Osaka Steel considers shipment of angle and channel steels are expected to recover gradually. Construction works are recently restarting, those which were suspended or postponed due to the Great East Japan Earthquake. In the disaster areas, reconstruction works are slightly starting.

Meanwhile, ferrous scrap price is likely to surge more since iron ore and coal prices stay high and integrated steel makers plan to increase their output for October-March. Electric power charge may also rise when Japanese all atomic power plants might stop in May 2012.

Yamato Steel, Japanese another major electric furnace steel maker, also raises the selling price of H-beam by 5,000 yen per tonne and the price of channel steel and I-beam by 5,000 yen per tonne for October shipment and contract against distributors. Yamato Steel maintains output reduction along with actual demand in October.