Japan: Nippon Steel hikes HRC export offers for Mar'25 shipments

• Iron ore prices increase, scrap tags stable
  
  
• Tokyo Steel, Baosteel keep Feb offers steady
  
  

Japanese steel major, Nippon Steel, has hiked its hot-rolled coil (HRC) export offers by $10-15/tonne (t) m-o-m for March 2025 shipments. Offers are currently at $530/t CFR Asia or Middle East compared to $515-520/t CFR for February 2025 shipment, as per data maintained with BigMint. The company said that it has closed all February shipment negotiations and is nearing completion for March shipments. However, the company is not offering to Europe due to safeguard and anti-dumping trade measures.

Factors affecting export offers

1. Iron ore tags increase, scrap stable: Global iron ore prices have increased since the start of the year. Benchmark Fe 62% fines prices rose by $5/t to $105/t CNF China on 28 January 2025, from $100/t CNF on 1 January 2025.

Additionally, for the second week of January, the Japan Iron and Steel Association reported the average H2 scrap price across Japan's three regions as JPY 37,900/t ($243/t), unchanged from the prior week. Kansai saw a modest rise of JPY 100/t to JPY 37,000/t ($238/t), while prices in Kanto and Chubu remained steady.

2. Focus on exports rises amid slow domestic demand: Japan's domestic demand for steel products remains sluggish, particularly in the construction sector, where high costs and companies' cautious attitudes have pressured trades. Amid sluggish domestic steel demand, it seems that Nippon Steel plans to focus on recouping costs through exports.

Meanwhile, domestically, there is a growing willingness to invest in large-scale projects, such as logistics warehouses and data centres, which could lead to a recovery in demand. While inventories of some steel products are decreasing, a full recovery in demand across various industries is still pending.

3. Global major mills keep offers steady: Tokyo Steel, Japan's leading electric arc furnace (EAF) steel manufacturer, has kept prices of hot-rolled coils (HRCs) (1.7-22 mm) stable for February shipments compared to the previous month, at $590/t. Additionally, Baosteel, the world's leading steel manufacturer, kept HRC prices stable for the third consecutive month. Prices remained unchanged for February sales amid subdued domestic demand.