Osaka Steel, Japan's largest producer of sections, said on Friday that it has decided to leave its prices for November contracts unchanged.
The company last raised prices by Yen 3,000/mt ($27/mt) for October contracts.
Osaka Steel does not reveal its list prices, but spot market prices of channels (100x50 mm) in Osaka and Tokyo are Yen 87,000-88,000/mt ($775-$784/mt), unchanged from a month ago, while prices of angles (6x50mm) are at around Yen 86,000-87,000/mt, up Yen 1,000/mt from a month ago, distributors said.
An Osaka-based distributor said that spot market prices are slowly increasing, but previous hikes by the producer has not been absorbed fully.
"We believe Osaka Steel is monitoring the market. Whenever the company confirms the increase, an additional hike will be made because input costs for electric furnaces are increasing," he said.
Another Osaka-based distributor said that market conditions for sections was not bad with stocks hovering at adequate levels, demand expected to stay firm, and producers supplying sufficient volumes to meet actual demand.
"Distributors are basically taking a stronger stance on their sales prices, trying to pass on higher prices from suppliers and not accepting lower priced orders," he said.
Japan's section output, which exclude H-beams, was 153,300 mt in September, down 3.4% year on year, but up 2.8% from August, the latest data by the Japan Iron & Steel Federation showed.
