Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co ,
Japan's biggest construction steel maker, said on Monday it will cut product
prices for the second time this year as the yen's rise has opened up a big
price gap between domestic products and imports.
The company will cut prices by
2,000-4,000 yen ($26-52) per tonne for September, or 2 to 5 percent, its second
across-the-board price cut in three months.
The price cut was slightly
smaller than the market expectations of around 3,000-5,000 yen.
“There are signs of a pickup
in demand as carmakers are ramping up production and large development projects
in the Tokyo area are about to start,” Tokyo Steel director Naoto Ohori
told a news conference. “We need to head off imports to tap this
demand.”
The company will cut its price
for H-beams, a key product used in construction, by 2.6 percent to 74,000 yen
($971) per MT from 76,000 yen, after keeping prices unchanged for three months.
Japan's imports of steel
products, mostly hot- and cold-rolled coils, rose in June to an almost six-year
high of 420,000 tonnes. China's steel exports exceeded 4 million tonnes for the
fourth straight month in June as domestic demand slowed, causing an oversupply
in Asian markets. South Korea is also boosting exports.
Tokyo Steel's move is in contrast
with Asia' other big exporters, which are beginning to raise prices to offset
high input costs.
Source: Reuters
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