Japanese steelmakers are raising prices for rolled steel for July sales

The price of HRC from Tokyo Steel has risen by $12/t; Nippon Steel is increasing the price of long products

Tokyo Steel, a leading Japanese electric arc furnace steel producer, has raised its prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) for July sales by 2,000 yen per tonne ($12/t) compared with the previous month. This was reported by BigMint.

In addition, the company’s prices for rebar and I-beams have also risen by 3,000 yen/t ($19/t).

Consequently, prices for HRC (1.7–22 mm) will be $624/t, rebar (D13–25) – $581/t, and I-beams (100–300 mm) – $724/t.

Tokyo Steel has revised its prices against a backdrop of rising production costs (increases in energy and raw material prices) and a gradual, albeit mixed, recovery in demand from various sectors.

Meanwhile, as Kallanish notes, Japanese long-product producers Godo Steel and Nippon Steel are also pushing for further price increases for the same reasons.

Godo Steel has announced that it will raise prices for wire rod and bar in coils (BIC) by 10,000 yen per tonne ($62/t) for July contracts with delivery in August. The company applied a similar increase to May deliveries.

The company notes that production costs have risen to a level that can no longer be covered solely through internal efficiency measures.

Nippon Steel has also launched a new round of price increases for rebar and wire rod. The manufacturer is seeking a further price increase of 5,000 yen per tonne for domestic contracts and spot sales from July, following the increase of over 10,000 yen per tonne introduced in April. In addition, the company is considering a similar move for export markets, depending on regional market conditions.

It should be noted that China’s Baosteel has kept prices for most flat steel products, including hot-rolled coil (HRC), unchanged for domestic sales in July.