Japan's Aug domestic stainless flat sales decline 10% MoM

In August, Japan's domestic sales of stainless flats including hot-rolled (HR) and cold-rolled (CR) coils and sheets among 32 major coil centers declined by 10.4% on month and 8.6% on year to 46,747 tonnes, according to the latest data released by Japan Stainless Coil Centers Association (JSCA) on September 27. Market sources attributed the decline to seasonal reasons and the fact that buyers had already fulfilled their needs.

JSCA sales account for about 60% of Japan's total stainless flat sales, Mysteel Global notes. A sales official from a coil center in Tokyo observed that customers stepped back from buying activities in August as producers had slashed their product prices to reflect lower alloy prices and also because buyers