Japan: Nippon Steel to raise HRC export offers for early March shipments

Japanese steel major, Nippon Steel, has increased its hot-rolled coils (HRCs) export offers by $50/t to $650/t FOB for early-March shipments. The previous offers stood at $600/t FOB for dispatches till end-February, as per data maintained with SteelMint. The company has closed all February shipments negotiation and now moving to March shipment offers.

Factors behind the increase in export offers-

1. Improvement in demand : Domestic steel demand is expected to be around 56.1 million tonnes (mnt) in Financial Year 2023 (FY23), up 1% as compared to Calendar Year 2022 (CY'22). Demand is expected to increase from civil engineering, construction, and machinery sectors. Automobile sales are also expected to improve, still the recovery will be limited, as supply-side constraints have not been completely resolved.

2. Rising global prices: International prices for HRCs are rising. In Asia, Vietnam's Formosa Ha Tinh Steel (FHS) and South Korea have announced price hikes. In addition, Baosteel, the world's leading steelmaker, has also raised its monthly HRCs prices by RMB 100/t ($15/). The company has raised prices for the second month in a row amid rising global and Chinese HRCs prices. In the US, price is at $785/t, about $15/t higher than at the beginning of the year. An even higher figure is expected for business negotiations in April, which will take place after the Chinese New Year, and inquiries from overseas customers.