Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co Ltd 5423.T, Japan’s top electric-arc furnace steelmaker, said on Tuesday it will hold steel product prices steady in October to ensure hikes implemented in recent months would be absorbed by the market.
For October, prices of its main H-shaped beams will stay steady at 106,000 yen ($964) a tonne while hot rolled coils will remain unchanged at 110,000 yen ($1,000) a tonne.
The company raised prices of pickled and oiled sheets by 2.4% in September, following a hike by up to 4.7% for some of its steel products in August.
“Overseas steel markets have stagnated due to resurgence of the coronavirus in Southeast Asia, but a quick recovery is anticipated thanks to solid demand in China and its policy of reducing crude steel output and steel exports,” the company said in a statement.
“The price increases will likely be absorbed by local market as inventory of sheet products are low,” the company said. But it added it was not clear how much impact slowing automobile production would have on steel demand.
Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T cut its annual production target on Friday by 300,000 vehicles as rising COVID-19 infections slowed output at parts factories in Vietnam and Malaysia, compounding a global shortage of auto chips.
Tokyo Steel’s pricing is closely watched by Asian rivals such as South Korea’s Posco 005490.KS and Hyundai Steel 004020.KS, and China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel Co Ltd (Baosteel) 600019.SS.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)