Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co Ltd said that it would keep steel product prices unchanged for a fourth straight month in February, as it awaited confirmation that a recovery in steel markets would continue both at home and abroad.
For February, prices for steel bars, including rebar, will remain at 62,000 yen ($563) a tonne while H-shaped beams will also stay at 83,000 yen a tonne. The company had held prices steady for all of its steel products in January, including its main H-shaped beams.
Tokyo Steel Managing Director Kiyoshi Imamura told reporters “Overseas steel prices have been recovering since late last year and the rally may even pick up after the China’s Lunar New Year break”. He added, “Steelmakers want to raise prices of products to reflect rising costs such as transportation and secondary materials, but we are keeping our product prices steady as we want to make sure markets have completely bottomed out.”
Tokyo Steel’s pricing is closely watched by Asian rivals, such as South Korea’s Posco and Hyundai Steel, and China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel Co Ltd.
