Weak Stainless Plate Price in Tokyo

Market price of stainless plate steel is weak at around 290,000 yen per tonne for SUS304 hot rolled coil cut plate with 3-6 millimeters thick and 450,000-460,000 yen for SUS304 plate mill products with 7-14 mm thick around Tokyo. The price could increase under higher raw materials cost despite of the slow demand.

The plate demand recovers worldwide. The demand is firm for chemical plant and seawater desalination plants as high as the peak in first half of 2008. The domestic demand is still slow at home when the dealers still try to reduce the inventory. The dealers’ sales in July recovered 70% of a year earlier level for hot rolled products. The domestic demand is expected to recover for civil works and vacuum chamber.

Nickel ingot price at London Metal Exchange reached US$ 8.73 per pound on Thursday. The makers are expected to increase the selling price of nickel series products by more than 10,000 yen per tonne to cover higher raw materials cost.