Weak Carbon Steel Wire Price in Tokyo

Carbon steel wire price is expected to continue weak tone after the beginning of next year when steel products prices such as rebar or H-beam is decreasing. Because users create the market price, dealers’ sales competition is becoming severe. Dealers expect the demand rebounds for January-March in demand season.

Dealers’ sales volume decreased by around 40% in December from a year earlier. Steel wire makers are increasing the purchase of wire rod from overseas for reduction of production cost.

The shipping volume of steel wire products decreased by 33.4% to 397,000 tonnes for April-October from the same period of last year, while steel wire products import decreased by 3.9% to 111,765 tonnes. The shipping volume decreased to 66,000 tonnes by 15.9% in October from a year earlier, while the import increased to 12,334 tonnes by 7.1%.

Chinese steel wire makers aren’t expected to reduce the selling price when raw material price is rising.