JMB reported that Asian cold rolled flat steel supply is expected to keep tight for longer term when the demand increases for automobile and appliances in China while short term expansion is limited for cold rolling mill with annealing line to make high grade cold rolled flat steel in East Asia despite of the raw steel output capacity expansion.

Japanese integrated steel makers get strong demand from offshore buyers. The Japanese makers will start the export negotiation in and after April and they study wide price hike as high as USD 200 per tonne of increase under tight supply.