Market prices of base-sized rebars in Osaka in western Japan rose Yen 1,000/mt ($9/mt) this week to Yen 67,000-68,000/mt ($598-607/mt), the first increase since July, in the wake of a typhoon, sources said Thursday.
Rebar producers in the area were impacted by a major typhoon that battered western Japan in early September, shutting some mills due to damage and delaying delivery schedules due to flooding, a sales official at a Osaka-based mini-mill said.
"The supply-demand balance of rebars in Osaka has become tighter and customers have started preparing for rebar deliveries for late this year or early next year, so the market has become active," he said.
An Osaka-based distributor said rebar prices in Osaka are typically lower than those in Tokyo and the tightening supply in Osaka may narrow the gap.
"There is an increase in input costs for all steel producers across Japan, but western Japan mini-mills are paying higher prices for scrap compared to those in eastern Japan and Osaka mini-mills are facing more severe conditions," he said.
"We predict prices of Osaka base-sized rebar to reach Yen 70,000/mt by end December and then eye higher prices after that," he said.
The current market price of base-sized rebars in Tokyo is around Yen 74,000-75,000/mt, up Yen 1,000/mt from end September.
