NSSC Lowers Stainless Wire Rod Price for Sep-Nov Contracts

Nippon Steel & Sumikin Stainless Steel Corporation (NSSC) announced on Monday the firm revises down stainless steel wire rod base price by 35,000 yen per tonne (10%) for nickel based alloy products and by 5,000 yen per tonne (2%) for chrome based alloy products for September-November contracts or October-December shipment compared with previous quarter. This is the first price down since contracts in March-May 2009.

NSSC adopted new alloy link price system in July 2010, along which the firm decides the stainless product prices based on nearest 3-month average material prices and currency exchange rate. For September-November contracts and October-December shipment, NSSC set the prices based on average material costs and yen exchange rate from June 1 to September 25, irregularly 4 months. Nickel and chrome prices downed while yen strengthened against other currencies compared with March-May.

Domestic demand for stainless steel wire rod keeps steady mainly from automobiles, electric appliances and IT applications. NSSC’s order receipts didn’t decrease though NSSC previously raised the contract price for nickel based products by 65,000 yen per tonne. The firm’s output maintained as high as 11,000 tonnes per month and Hikari works continued full operation.

The demand is afraid to weaken in and after October for applications related to automobiles and hard disk drives. In addition, strong yen trend impacts Japanese makers’ offshore businesses. NSSC plans to balance the output volume with actual demand level.

NSSC also revises down the extra charge depending on alloy content. The extra charge is lowered by 45,000 yen per tonne for SUSXM7 and SUS303, by 55,000 yen per tonne for SUS316 and by 80,000 yen per tonne for SUS310S.