Cold Rolled Steel Sheet Price to Decrease around Osaka

Cold rolled steel sheet price is weak around Osaka. The trading is thin after New Year holiday. The price is at 75,000-76,000 yen per tonne for standard size with 1 millimeter thick, 4 feet width and 8 feet length. The market price could decrease more when domestic and offshore steel makers reduce the selling price and the dealers cannot keep the reselling price.

The import is increasing. The import volume is as high as 80,000-90,000 tonnes per month in past one or two months. Japanese integrated steel makers expand reduction of flat rolled steel output to adjust supply balance. The integrated steels reduce cold rolled sheet supply for the dealers. The arrivals from the makers to local coil centers decrease. The coil centers reduce the processing volume for standard sized products and the dealers are reducing the purchase volume. The inventory is decreasing at the coil centers and dealers while the stock is still high for the demand.

The demand significantly decreases for home appliance. The demand is slow for office automation equipment. The users mainly purchase standard sized products mainly with small lot.