Top Asian steelmakers will continue hiking hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in the second quarter of this year due to continued strong demand in the region, a leading Japanese steel mill told Fastmarkets MB this week.
"Tier-1 mills in South Korea, China, Japan and Vietnam see many reasons to increase their offers in the second quarter of 2019, including strong seasonal demand from end users," a source at the Japanese mill said.The seasonal demand was due to the end of winter and a resurgence in business activities from downstream buyers, he added.Recovering domestic markets in Europe and Russia have also limited the quantities of Russian HRC being offered to Asia, supporting prices in the...