Nippon Steel lifts H-beam prices again, despite swelling dealer stocks

Nippon Steel has decided to add another Yen 5,000/tonne ($31/t) to domestic prices of its H-beams for March contracts (April roll), the company announced on Wednesday, despite end-February stocks held by dealers surging by 7.5% from end-January to a recent record high.

The company had raised prices by the same amount last month for current month production but argued that "labor costs, logistics costs and others, including prices of major raw materials, have continued to rise (and) further increases will be inevitable." As a result, it had no choice but to