Baoshan Iron & Steel : Tokyo Steel to raise product prices in October by 2.2%-3.4%

Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co, Japan's top electric-arc furnace steelmaker, said on Tuesday it would raise its steel product prices by 2.2%-3.4% in October to reflect demand recovery at home and abroad.

The company had kept prices unchanged for all of its steel products in September for a second consecutive month.

For October, it will increase prices of 10 products by 2,000 yen ($18.9) a tonne, with those for hot rolled coils being hiked to 67,000 yen ($634) a tonne from 65,000 yen, the company said in a statement.

It will increase prices of steel bars, including rebars, to 61,000 yen from 59,000 yen and for hot-dip galvanised coils to 91,000 yen from 89,000 yen.

Prices for its main H-shaped beams will stay steady at 81,000 yen a tonne.

Overseas markets are getting stronger due to solid demand in the world's top consumer China, while there are signs that Japan's demand is picking up, especially in steel sheets used in the manufacturing industry, it said.

Tokyo Steel's pricing is closely watched by Asian rivals such as South Korea's Posco and Hyundai Steel, and China's Baoshan Iron & Steel Co Ltd (Baosteel).

($1 = 105.6400 yen)

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)