Steel Sheet Price Continues to Rise Strongly in Asia

Steel sheet market price continues rising in Asia. Japanese sheet export price is around FOB US$ 850 per tonne for cold rolled coil for May-June shipment, above US$ 900 per tonne for hot dipped galvanized sheet and around US$ 950per tonne for electro galvanized sheet, according to Japanese integrated steel makers. These sheet prices increased by about US$ 100 from last month. Spot export price of hot coil is surging to US$ 750 for May shipment. The market price is expected to rise more. For June shipment, the price might reach US$ 800 for hot coil, US$ 900 for cold rolled coil and US$ 1,000 for surface treated sheet.

Supply and demand balance of steel sheet maintains tight in Asia when automobile and electric appliance productions keep active in China. However, Japanese, Chinese and South Korean mills’ capacity is short for high grade steel products. Japanese coil centers’ inventory ratio is near 1.5 months in South China, where steel sheet is mainly consumed for electric appliances, according to large dealers. It is hard for the coil centers in South China to secure high grade sheets.

Major steel makers and raw material suppliers agreed in the price hike of iron ore and coal. Iron ore price rises by 90% and coal price rises by 55% from last fiscal year. Many users recognized the inflation trend of raw material. Consequently, a trading company source said the market price has rapidly surged for recent 2 weeks.