TOKYO: Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co Ltd , Japan's top electric-arc furnace steelmaker, said on Monday it will raise its product prices for a third straight month in February to reflect tight markets at home and abroad as well as rising transportation costs.
The company will boost prices on 13 products in February by 1,000-2,000 yen ($9-18) per tonne, or by 1.2 to 2.5 percent, while it will keep prices of two products unchanged. It increased prices on all its products in January and December by 3,000 yen.
"China's steel prices are going through some corrections after their sharp rally, but strong market trend looks to remain unchanged, with solid demand and output under control," Tokyo Steel's Managing Director, Kiyoshi Imamura, told reporters.
"Japan's domestic demand also continues to be strong backed by healthy orders from construction, automobile and machinery segments," he said, adding the market will need to reflect higher costs of raw materials and transportation.
Prices for steel bars, including rebar, will increase by 1,000 yen, or 1.5 percent, to 69,000 yen ($623) a tonne, while prices for its main product, H-shaped beams, will rise by 2,000 yen, or 2.3 percent, to 89,000 yen a tonne. Prices of heavy plates and galvanized sheet coils will stay unchanged.
The February prices of H-shaped beams will mark the highest since October 2008 when the prices were set as a global financial crisis was about to happen, according to a company official.
Tokyo Steel's pricing strategy is closely watched by Asian rivals such as South Korea's Posco and Hyundai Steel Co, as well as China's Baoshan Iron & Steel Co Ltd(Baosteel).
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