Posted on 26 Apr 2023
Kyoei Steel, Japan's largest rebar producer, has decided to roll over prices for base-size rebars for May shipments, it announced on April 24, saying that domestic deliveries are smooth at present and that it expects that demand for steel -- mainly for construction and civil engineering -- to remain resilient.
That the Osaka-based mini-mill opted to hold its prices does not surprise, given that last week, market-leader Tokyo Steel Manufacturing had announced that it would be keeping all its list prices unchanged for May deliveries, as Mysteel Global reported.
And similar to Tokyo Steel and its price fluctuations over the past few months, Kyoei had raised its rebar prices for March sales by Yen 5,000/tonne ($37/t) before lifting them by a further Yen 3,000/t for current month sales.
"(Though) it is inevitable that production costs will rise because of rising materials, energy and logistics costs due to global inflation, the selling price for May will remain unchanged," Kyoei said in a statement, explaining that it will wait for previous price increases to penetrate the market.
Looking abroad, the mini-mill noted that China's crude steel production in March exceeded 90 million tonnes for the first time in nine months, indicating that demand for steel will increase due to economic stimulus measures by the Chinese government in the future.
"Although there are regions in East Asia where demand is currently weak due to seasonal factors, it is expected to turn into a recovery from the second half of the year, and the impact on steel demand in Japan is judged to be minor," it noted.
Although Kyoei never reveals its list prices, as of Tuesday morning, deals for SD295A 16-25mm rebars in Tokyo were still being done at around Yen 118,000-121,000/t -- unchanged since January, despite the makers' price increases.
While those in Osaka, Kyoei's home market, were at Yen 109,000-110,000/t, up from Yen 99,000-100,000/t in January, according to market sources.
Source:Mysteel Global
