Japan Carbon Steel Wire Rod Import Drops by 10.8% in 1H

Japanese carbon steel wire rod import decreased by 10.8% to 100,188 tonnes in January-June from same period of 2007, according to Ministry of Finance. However, the import level was as high as 36,600 tonnes in June after 31,400 tonnes in May, which was the 30,000 tonnes level since December 2007.

The higher import in May and June was due to buyers’ aggressive procurement before the domestic makers’ hike. The import is expected to decrease in and after July.

Japanese largest carbon steel wire rod maker of Nippon Steel increases the selling price by 15,000 yen per tonne for carbon steel wire rod and bar in coil for October shipment. Chinese wire rod makers could increase the import for Japanese market despite of the tight steel source when Japanese price level keeps increasing.

Japanese processed steel wire products import increased by 0.6% to 68,238 tonnes in January-June from same period of 2007.