Tokyo Steel has hiked ferrous scrap purchase prices nine times in December, which totals to around JPY9,000-10,500/mt. Driven by bullish ferrous scrap Japanese steelmaker Tokyo Steel raised finished steel product sales prices for January deliveries by JPY10,000/mt ($97/mt). January prices for steel products are up by 11-16pc from December. Steel production activities have been ramping up in Japan in line with firmer overseas steel prices amid a recovery in demand for steel from the automotive and infrastructure sectors.
For January shipments, rebar will be offered at JPY73,000/mt ex-works, up JPY10,000 or 16pc. The prices for H-shaped beams and U-shaped steel sheet piles will be raised by JPY10,000/mt to JPY93,000/mt ($899/mt) and JPY105,000/mt ($1,014/mt) ex-works, up 11pc and 12pc, respectively.
| Tokyo Steel’s January shipment prices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Products | Prices in JPY/mt | Change M-o-M |
| H Beams | 101000 | 10,000 |
| Striped H steel | 103000 | 10,000 |
| I shaped steel | 100000 | 10,000 |
| Channel steel | 89000 | 10,000 |
| HRC | 85000 | 10,000 |
| D bar | 73,000 | 10,000 |
Domestic steel inventories in Japan have started depleting sharply. This has encouraged both domestic and overseas steel buyers to rush to buy steel at lower prices, which in turn spiked global prices.
In the global market, the supply of raw materials is expected to stay tight through Q1 2021, keeping the price outlook ‘stable to up’. Recovering manufacturing activities in Japan are leading to a speedy decline of steel inventories, which is supporting mills to raise prices. In the Southeast Asian markets, Tokyo Steel’s prices are followed as a benchmark by other competitors including Posco, Hyundai, Baoshan, and Formosa.
Fe scrap prices hiked by 9 times
High ferrous scrap prices narrowed the margins for many EAF-based mills in Japan but an increase in steel consumption domestically provided some support to steelmakers. In December, so far, Tokyo Steel has hiked ferrous scrap purchase prices nine times, which totals to around JPY9,000-10,500/mt. Effective Dec 22, purchase prices for #2 HMS rose to JPY39,000/mt delivered Utsunomiya works, up JPY10,500/mt from JPY28,500/mt a month earlier and JPY42,000/mt delivered Tahara, up JPY12,000/mt.
($1=JPY103.46)