Japan’s Tokyo Steel will keep prices for all products unchanged for a consecutive month in September, Kallanish notes.
September base prices for rebar, hot rolled coil and thick plate will remain at JPY 93,000/tonne ($582/t), JPY 100,000/t and JPY 108,000/t respectively. The premium for its near-zero steel will remain at JPY 5,900/t.
The steelmaker has suspended sales of hot-dip galvanised coil due to facility construction work in preparation for the launch of cold-rolled coil production. Sales are expected to resume after the new year. The firm says that amid expectations of buyers shifting to domestic product sourcing, driven by anti-dumping duties on imported materials, the company will ensure a robust supply system is in place.
Japan imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on hot-dip galvanised steel sheet and strip from South Korea and China from 8 August to 7 December. The investigation will continue to determine whether definitive anti-dumping duties are imposed.
Regarding the Kumamoto earthquake, the company says it will prioritise responding to recovery and reconstruction demand, while carefully assessing the impact on the supply chain.
The company anticipates that manufacturing costs will continue to rise, although scrap prices have been adjusted due to the temporary appreciation of the yen. It reduced domestic scrap purchase prices once again from 5 August amid the recent downward trend in the domestic scrap market.