Posted on 29 Aug 2022
Osaka Steel, Japan's largest section producer, has decided to roll over its list prices for September domestic sales to monitor the market movement, though it claimed the rise in production costs, a company official shared.
With the latest decision, Osaka Steel has been keeping its list prices of sections unchanged for four months after it lifted a total of Yen 15,000/tonne ($109/t) for March-May sales to transfer higher production costs, as reported.
The company does not reveal its exact list prices. But as of Friday morning, SS400 grade 6x50mm angles were transacted in Tokyo at Yen 122,000-123,000/t, the same grade 100x50mm channels at Yen 123,000-124,000/t, and the prices in Osaka were about Yen 1,000/t higher than those in Tokyo, but all unchanged on month, sources confirmed.
A construction steel trader in Tokyo shared that overall section demand remains stable and stocks have been kept at an adequate level, but it is expected to become tighter because section producers have been keeping their receiving volumes to the lowest level.
"We expect the market condition (for sections) to improve in coming months with expected orders from construction projects," he predicted.
"But scrap prices have been rebounding, and the rise will push up producers' production costs again. Though section producers are waiting for demand to become active, they may have to start lifting product prices sooner to secure (adequate) profits," he added.
Osaka Steel has lifted Yen 4,000/t for its scrap buying prices this week, marking the first rise in four months. And as of Friday morning, mini-mills in Osaka area were paying Yen 44,500-45,500/t for H2 material, sources confirmed.
The latest data from Japan Iron & Steel Federation showed that the country produced some 892,600 tonnes of sections excluding H-beams over January-July, down 0.3% on year.
Source:Mysteel Global
