Wed Nov 2, 2011
TOKYO Nov 2 (Reuters) - Japanese exports of hot-rolled steel coil rose 3.6 percent in July-September from a year earlier, weathering a 38 percent plunge in sales to South Korea as Southeast Asian demand picked up, but a deterioration in Asia's steel market and floods in Thailand may hurt exports in the fourth quarter.
Exports of hot coil -- rolled from slabs and processed further into finished products by manufacturers -- increased to 2.14 million tonnes in the third quarter, helped by a recovery in manufacturing output in Thailand and other ASEAN nations as supply chains recovered from the disruption of Japan's March earthquake.
The export outlook is deteriorating fast, however, on the back of the stronger yen, as well as ebbing demand in China and falling prices as economic uncertainties increase.
Recent steep slides in iron ore IODBZ00-PLT and coal prices, the key steel-making ingredients, mean steel prices are likely to fall further in the January-March period. Iron ore prices were at $119 a tonne on Wednesday, down 34 percent since early September.
"Japanese steelmakers need to secure $700 or above a tonne for exports of hot coil," said Atsushi Yamaguchi, senior analyst at UBS. "They need to be selective in exports and that is already pressuring their output."
Yamaguchi expects the cost of key raw materials to fall $60-80 per tonne by the January-March period from April-June of this year, when costs peaked.
Chinese mills' offer prices for hot coil in late October had fallen below $650, from around $680 in early October, one trader said.
Japan's exports of hot coil to South Korea plunged to 472,000 tonnes in July-September, down 38 percent from a year earlier, Japan Iron and Steel Federation data showed on Wednesday. South Korean mills have boosted capacity by 15 million tonnes over the past few years.
Hot coil exports to Thailand increased 11.5 percent to 439,500 tonnes during the three months.
Japan's steel industry body expects the floods in Thailand, an Asian hub of car production, will curtail Japan's crude steel output by as much as 1 million tonnes for the rest of the financial year to next March.
(sourced Reuters)
TOKYO Nov 2 (Reuters) - Japanese exports of hot-rolled steel coil rose 3.6 percent in July-September from a year earlier, weathering a 38 percent plunge in sales to South Korea as Southeast Asian demand picked up, but a deterioration in Asia's steel market and floods in Thailand may hurt exports in the fourth quarter.
Exports of hot coil -- rolled from slabs and processed further into finished products by manufacturers -- increased to 2.14 million tonnes in the third quarter, helped by a recovery in manufacturing output in Thailand and other ASEAN nations as supply chains recovered from the disruption of Japan's March earthquake.
The export outlook is deteriorating fast, however, on the back of the stronger yen, as well as ebbing demand in China and falling prices as economic uncertainties increase.
Recent steep slides in iron ore IODBZ00-PLT and coal prices, the key steel-making ingredients, mean steel prices are likely to fall further in the January-March period. Iron ore prices were at $119 a tonne on Wednesday, down 34 percent since early September.
"Japanese steelmakers need to secure $700 or above a tonne for exports of hot coil," said Atsushi Yamaguchi, senior analyst at UBS. "They need to be selective in exports and that is already pressuring their output."
Yamaguchi expects the cost of key raw materials to fall $60-80 per tonne by the January-March period from April-June of this year, when costs peaked.
Chinese mills' offer prices for hot coil in late October had fallen below $650, from around $680 in early October, one trader said.
Japan's exports of hot coil to South Korea plunged to 472,000 tonnes in July-September, down 38 percent from a year earlier, Japan Iron and Steel Federation data showed on Wednesday. South Korean mills have boosted capacity by 15 million tonnes over the past few years.
Hot coil exports to Thailand increased 11.5 percent to 439,500 tonnes during the three months.
Japan's steel industry body expects the floods in Thailand, an Asian hub of car production, will curtail Japan's crude steel output by as much as 1 million tonnes for the rest of the financial year to next March.
(sourced Reuters)
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