Nippon says Y20,000 price hike needed after April

(Update1- Nippon Steel sees input costs up by Y15,000/tonne)

* Nippon says Y20,000 price hike needed after April

* Says price increase necessary due to higher input costs

TOKYO Feb 28 (Reuters) - Nippon Steel Corp expects major input costs to rise by more than 15,000 yen ($183.50) per tonne after April, a company official said on Monday.

Due to the rise in input costs, Nippon Steel estimates that a price hike of about 20,000 yen per tonne is necessary for its steel products in general, Kozo Uchida, a senior Nippon Steel executive, told reporters.

That may be equivalent to a nearly 25 percent price hike, given Nippon Steel's average product price of about 82,000 yen planned for the year to March 31.

Its smaller rival JFE Steel last week told primary distributors that it would raise prices steel sheets by 20,000 yen per tonne, signalling to volume contract users such as Toyota Motor Corp the level of price hike it seeks.

Big steelmakers usually push through a price hike among its primary dealers first before starting tough pricing talks with volume users, who buy on contracts, like car and electronics makers and shipbuilders. (Reporting by Yuko Inoue; Editing by Chris Gallagher,sourced:Thomson Reuters)

Nippon Steel sees input costs up by Y15,000/tonne

Mon Feb 28, 2011 5:48am GMT

TOKYO Feb 28 (Reuters) - Nippon Steel (5401.T: Quote) expects major input costs to rise by more than 15,000 yen ($183.50) per tonne in April-June from the previous quarter, a company official said on Monday.

Due to the rise in input costs, Nippon Steel estimates that a price hike of about 20,000 yen per tonne is necessary for its steel products in general, Kozo Uchida, a senior Nippon Steel executive, told reporters. (Reporting by Yuko Inoue, sourced: Thomson Reuters)

Tags:steelmaking, Kozo Uchida, Japan, steel industry

Nippon Steel plans 20 pct price hike - Nikkei

Fri Feb 25, 2011 5:06am GMT

* Will ask customers to accept around $240 hike -Nikkei

* JFE also seen asking for similar rise

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Nippon Steel Corp (5401.T: Quote) will ask auto makers and other major customers to accept a roughly 20,000 yen ($242) a tonne price rise for steel products starting in April, the Nikkei business daily said, as soaring material costs take their toll.

Nippon Steel, the world's No.4 steelmaker, will propose the around 20 percent jump as early as mid-March, the daily said on Friday.

That would be in line with rival JFE Steel Corp's (5411.T: Quote) announcement on Thursday that it would up prices of steel sheet for sale through domestic wholesalers by 20,000 yen per tonne from April, signalling to volume contract users such as Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote) the level of price hike it seeks. [ID:nTOE71N01S]

Asia's steelmakers aim to pass on climbing costs for iron ore and coking coal, the prices of which are expected to climb sharply after April.

But negotiations with their customers, who buy on contract, are expected to be tough. Nippon Steel and JFE have not yet fully passed on the sharply higher input costs from the second-half of the 2010/11 financial year.

The spot price of hard coking coal in Australia in the December-February period, which will be reflected in the April-June contract price, will likely average $279 per tonne, data service company Argus Media Ltd said.

That could mean an about 27 percent price hike in coal during April-June from the previous quarter. ($1 = 82.755 Japanese yen) (Reporting by Yuko Inoue in Tokyo and NR Sethuraman in Bangalore; Editing by Joseph Radford, sourced:Thomson Reuters)