Japan: Nippon Steel raises stainless steel contract prices in Nov’25 amid rising raw material costs

• Price hike covers both 300-series, 400-series products
• Inquiries for 300-series continue increasing steadily

SteelDaily: Nippon Steel, a leading stainless steel manufacturer based in Japan, has raised selling prices of cold-rolled stainless steel for November contracts by JPY 5,000/t ($32/t), covering both the 300-series and 400-series products. This adjustment reflects higher costs of ferro chrome, with prices rising to $1.63/lb for October-December, up $0.10/lb from the prior quarter.

Nippon Steel projects operating rates to hover at around 80% for both Q4CY’25 and Q1CY’26. While domestic demand in Japan has yet to fully recover, signs of improvement are visible, particularly in commercial kitchen and heating appliances, predominantly utilising 400-series stainless steel.

Inquiries for 300-series products are also on the rise. Robust demand persists in shipbuilding and energy sectors, although uncertainty continues in overseas markets due to US tariffs and a sluggish economic rebound in China.

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