TOKYO,
June 20 (Reuters) - Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co Ltd , Japan's top electric-arc
furnace steelmaker, on Monday said it will hold steel product prices steady in
July to ensure hikes implemented earlier this year would be absorbed by the
market.
This
is the second month the company kept prices unchanged for all of its steel
products, including its main H-shaped beams.
For
July, prices for steel bars, including rebar, will remain at 102,000 yen ($757)
a tonne while H-shaped beams will stay at 124,000 yen a tonne.
Overseas
steel prices remained under pressure, with slow production and distribution
activity in China due to strict coronavirus lockdowns in some cities, the
company said in a statement.
Domestic
demand, meanwhile, remained solid for construction use, but inventory of sheet
steel was high due to a weak recovery in automobile output because of a global
chip shortage, also hit by China's pandemic restrictions, it added.
Tokyo
Steel's pricing is closely watched by Asian rivals such as South Korea's Posco,
Hyundai Steel and China's Baoshan Iron & Steel Co Ltd (Baosteel) .
($1
= 134.6900 yen) (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi, Editing by Louise Heavens)