Japan: Tokyo Steel keeps steel prices stable m-o-m for Sep'25

• China's Baosteel keeps HRC prices unchanged for Sep'25
  
  
• Construction sector weakness continues to weigh on prices
  
  

Tokyo Steel, Japan's leading electric arc furnace (EAF) steel producer, has held hot-rolled coil (1.722 mm) prices steady for September 2025 sales, marking the sixth month in a row without changes. Moreover, prices for rebars and H-beams also remained steady.

Revised prices are as follows:

HRCs (1.7-22 mm): JPY 89,000/tonne (t) ($604/t)

Rebars (D13~25): JPY 85,000/t ($577/t)

H-beams (100-300 mm): JPY 112,000/t ($760/t)

Factors influencing Tokyo Steel's pricing

1. Domestic market: The Japanese domestic steel market continued to reflect weak demand in similar lines with a month ago period. Demand remained slow, especially from the construction sector, due to factors such as extreme heat, constrained labour availability, and reduced construction capacity. However, industry sources are expecting the same to improve as the construction activities pick up pace for large-scale development projects that have already been approved.

2. Key global mills' pricing trends: The world's top steel manufacturer, Baosteel, has kept HRC prices unchanged for September 2025 sales after having raised it by RMB 100/t ($14/t) m-o-m for Aug'25 sales.

However, Vietnamese steel giant Formosa Ha Tinh (FHS) has also raised its hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices by approximately $10/tonne (t) m-o-m for September 2025 sales. Effective prices of HRC (SAE1006, skin-passed) post revisionranged within $507-517/t CIF Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), depending on the quantity booked, as compared to $497-507/t CIF HCMC a month ago.

3. H2 scrap export offers drop: Japan's August 2025 Kanto scrap export tender witnessed an m-o-m rise of JPY 172/t ($1/t), with a 20,000-t H2 lot reportedly awarded via a trader to VAS, a Vietnam-based mill at JPY 41,888/t ($285/t) FAS Japan. In comparison, the Kanto tender was concluded at JPY 41,716/t ($284/t) in July.

Outlook

In the short term, Japan's domestic steel market is expected to stay slow. However, some industry participants are optimistic about a pick up in demand, with the resumption of work for the already approved large-scale domestic construction projects and other public projects that are in the work-in-progress (WIP) phase. Meanwhile, broader sentiment continues to remain cautious amid global tariff talks and postponed investments.