Weak Structural Steel Bar Price in Tokyo

Structural steel market price is weak at around 130,000-135,000 yen per tonne for carbon steel bar for machine structural use and at around 160,000-165,000 yen for chrome and molybdenum steel bar around Tokyo. The market price is expected to hit the bottom before Japanese long hoidays in early May. Structural steel bar makers are sustaining the selling price.

The market inventory has increased since last summer but the uptrend suspended in February 2009. Japanese inventory decreased by 0.2% to 241,092 tonnes in February from January, according to Japan special steel dealers’ association. Japanese dealers’ sales volume decreased by 17.2% in February from January due to slow demand.

Automobile makers announced to increase the output from May while the recovery of other industry is unclear in near future.