Japan: Nippon Steel hikes Jan’26 stainless prices amid rising nickel costs

• Japanese industry to implement anti-circumvention framework.
• LME nickel rallies on Indonesia mining quota reduction concerns

SteelDaily: Nippon Steel has announced a price increase of JPY 5,000/t for January 2026 contracts on 300-series cold-rolled stainless steel and thick plates, as well as 400-series cold-rolled products, reflecting higher alloy-linked costs and currency movements. The adjustment is driven by its Alloy Link pricing formula, which factors in nickel, ferrochrome and the yen’s recent appreciation.

For 300-series cold-rolled products, this marks the fourth consecutive monthly hike, taking the cumulative increase since August 2025 to JPY 30,000/t. The January pricing was calculated by comparing average raw material and exchange-rate indices for Nov-Dec 2025 against Oct-Nov levels, capturing the sharp rise in nickel and alloy inputs over the past month.

LME nickel prices have rallied strongly, recently climbing above $17,600/t, the highest level in over a year, after reports that Indonesia plans to significantly reduce its 2026 nickel ore mining permit (RKAB) quotas. This has tightened supply expectations and lifted global cost pressures for stainless steel producers.

Nippon Steel noted that while price visibility remains limited, its stainless steel sheet and plate operations are currently running at around the low-80% utilisation rate, reflecting a cautious demand environment despite higher costs.

Separately, the company flagged growing concerns over indirect and circumvention imports, with rising inflows from countries outside existing anti-dumping investigations. Japan’s stainless steel industry, along with the government, is moving ahead with the implementation of a new anti-circumvention framework, proposed last August, which has now passed regulatory review and is entering the institutional phase, aimed at protecting the domestic market from unfair trade practices.

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