Nippon Steel to Hike H-Beam Price by 5,000 yen/T in February

Nippon Steel increases H-beam price by 5,000 yen per tonne for order in February, which is the first price hike attempt September order. The firm notified the dealers of the hike on Wednesday. The firm cut the output more than 70% compared with normal level to adjust supply and demand balance. The firm eyes additional price hike when the overseas beam price is increasing. The dealers try to find timing to increase the reselling price in February.

Nippon Steel increases beam export through aggressive effort including acquiring Korean industrial standard on January 13. The overseas beam price is increasing while Japanese price remains low.

H-beam price is about US$ 700 per tonne level in South Korea. Hyundai Steel increases the price by 40,000 won to 860,000 won or about 68,000 yen per tonne in February. Nippon Steel aims to hike the domestic selling price when the price is lower than international level.

Market sources see current H-beam price is low compared with other section steels. H-beam market price is 60,000-61,000 yen per tonne around Tokyo while equal angle steel price is around 70,000 yen. H-beam price is usually higher than equal angle.