Fresh offers from one of the top 8 graphite electrode producers in the world Tokai Carbon, has witnessed a sudden rise, crossing the USD 8000 mark.
Offers for 32-28inch variant has been ascertained at JPY 920,000 (USD 8197)/MT where as for rods between 24-18 inches offers have been raised to JPY 900,000 (USD 8000)/MT. For rods ranging from 16 inches and below, offers by Tokai Carbon has been raised to JPY 1,300,000 (USD 11,500)/MT. The prices are for effective date of April 1st 2018 on delivery basis in Japan.
It may be noted here that the prevailing market prices in Japan between September-November 2017 period stood at around USD 4500 and the fresh offers indicate a hike of almost 80% from the previous prices. Market experts believe that other major producers in Japan including Syowa Denko and Nippon Carbon may also follow suit.
The exponential rise in offers are being attributed to high cost of key raw material needle coke. Tokai steel has stated, that the steep rise in cost of raw material has emerged as a major hurdle for the business.
According to the statement “the company is trying to make efforts to maintain a stable supply of quality products in this environment of short supply of graphite electrode and increasing demand of scrap-melting through electric arc furnace”.
Sources based in Egypt have revealed to SteelMint that purchase offers in the country have risen as high as USD 17,000/MT. On the other hand one of the largest steel producers in Bangladesh has revealed that purchase offers in Bangladesh are hovering around USD 13000/MT.
Offers remain high in India
Similarly, purchase offers for graphite electrodes in India have remained between 14,000 to 15,000 USD. The offers have prevailed over the last two months and are presently stable. However, the changing scenario in the international market may lead to possible changes in prices offered and it remains to be seen for how long the stability prevails.
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