Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co. said Monday it will cut prices of construction beams for the third time in five months to fend off competition from rivals, including Nippon Steel Corp.
The company, Japan's largest maker of girders, will sell H-beam steel at ¥65,000 a metric ton for July contracts, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement. That is ¥3,000, or 4.4 percent, lower than the level in the previous month. Prices of deformed steel bars will also drop by ¥3,000, or 5.9 percent, to ¥48,000.
Nippon Steel, Japan's second-largest maker of girders, cut prices of H-beam steel by ¥13,000, or 16 percent, to about ¥67,000 a ton for June contracts, according to a media report earlier this month. Nippon Steel spokesman Masato Suzuki declined comment on the report.
"Some distributors for blast furnaces have cut prices, so we'll have to respond," Tokyo Steel Managing Director Naoto Ohori said, referring to Nippon Steel's price cuts.
Tokyo Steel will raise prices of hot-rolled coil for July contracts by ¥3,000, or 5.8 percent, to ¥55,000 a ton, he said.