NSSC Raises Prices for Stainless CRCs for June Delivery

Japan's largest stainless steel maker Nippon Steel & Sumikin (NSSC) has announced an increase in its domestic prices for cold rolled coils and austenitic-grade slabs at JPY 15,000 per tonne under June contracts, according to industry sources. (1 US dollar = 102.480016 JPY)

The NSSC indicated that the demand for stainless steel flat products in construction, household appliances and mechanical engineering has grown markedly. The spike in nickel prices forced the stainless steel maker to increase prices for various grades of the alloy.

Nickel prices rose $ 0.94 a pound during the month of May. The price of the metal has climbed nearly 50 percent since the beginning of the year to nearly $ 9 a pound from $ 6 a pound.
However, NSSC has announced that it will keep ferrite CRC prices unchanged at JPY 10,000 per tonne. The decision to keep prices at the same level follows from the fall in demand for ferrite grades in the domestic market compared to the previous month.

In addition, the company notes that the demand for stainless steel products in the construction and manufacturing sectors continues to be strong during the last months of this year.

NSSC, formed in 2003 through the merger of the stainless steel divisions of Nippon Steel Corporation and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd, is Japan's largest stainless steel producer and sets the tone not only domestically but globally.