Japan: Low steel prices may force Nippon Steel to raise contract prices

Executive Vice-President of Nippon Steel Corporation Takahiro Mori has said that “unreasonably low” steel prices in Japan could force the company to urgently hike prices in order to be on an equal footing with global competitors such as ArcelorMittal and South Korea’s POSCO, as per reports. Nippon Steel might have to renegotiate contracts later in the year – mainly with big buyers such as Toyota Motor Corp – to push up domestic prices to a level closer to that of the U.S. and China, Mori said.