Nippon Steel and Kobe Steel, Japan’s largest and third-largest integrated steel producer, have decided to lift their list prices of special steel longs such as wire rods and bars by at least Yen 20,000/tonne ($184/t) for spot sales and for long-term supply deals in and out of Japan, company officials confirmed on August 4.
The price rises are to reflect higher costs such as in raw materials, auxiliary materials, and logistics, according to them, and Kobe’s new prices will apply to September deliveries and onwards and Nippon Steel starting October.
With the latest price adjustment, Nippon Steel has raised its list prices of special steel longs by a total of Yen 45,000/t since April, which many customers had fully agreed on, but that has been insufficient to digest all the added costs in the past few months and overseas prices of similar products are still higher than domestic prices, the company official said.
Hence, “We have to further narrow the price gap against the international level, and further price rises may be necessary,” she added.
Kobe Steel has raised its special steel longs prices by a total of Yen 25,000/t during the same period, Mysteel Global noted.
Moreover, “supply tightness is another reason, as we have been running at our full capacity now that demand for such special steel longs has been very robust,” the Nippon Steel official said, which the Kobe Steel official confirmed, disclosing that his company has maximized output too and expecting supply to stay tight in the coming months.
As for carbon steel wire robs and bar, these two companies have decided to raise the prices for all the customers from October and September deliveries respectively too, though Nippon Steel’s increment is Yen 10,000/t and Kobe Steel’s Yen 20,000/t, but their total hikes since April are the same at Yen 25,000/t, according to the company officials.
Officials from JFE Steel, Japan’s second-largest integrated mill could not be reached for comment on whether they will follow suit. The company had raised its related products prices by a total Yen 25,000/t by the end of July.
“Timing and degree of price adjustments may differ among producers even though their costs should be around the same level, JFE’s carbon steel longs prices maybe around the same levels as the others, but it may raise its special steel longs to match,” a steel trader in Tokyo predicted.
Written by Yoko Manabe, yoko.manabe@mysteel.com
This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
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