Japan's construction steel demand seen firm by year-end

For June, Japan's newly-launched non-timber buildings rose by 10% on year to 6.59 million sq m, according to the latest statistics released by the country's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). Market sources shared that construction steel demand is expected to stay firm for the second half of this year.

The June result was also 17.7% higher on month, and that for January-June approximated 35.68 million sq m, up 4.9% on year, the MLIT data showed. A construction steel trader in Tokyo observed that the rise in June might have to do with the slow base in May as high