Hyundai Steel : Tokyo Steel to hike heavy plates' prices by 4.9% in July

TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co Ltd said it will raise prices for its heavy plates next month by 4.9%, while keeping them unchanged for other products to ensure a hike implemented this month is absorbed by the market.

For this month, Japan's top electric-arc furnace lifted prices for all of its steel products by up to 17.6%, reflecting a surge in overseas prices and a pick-up in local demand.

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).

Prices for heavy plates, used in ships and construction machinery, will be increased by 5,000 yen ($45) to 107,000 yen per tonne for July as the market gets tighter.

Prices of the main H-shaped beams will stay at 103,000 yen a tonne, the company said on Tuesday.

Overseas prices of steel products are expected to remain high, while local prices will likely catch up with overseas markets due to recovering demand and low inventories, Tokyo Steel said.

($1 = 110.0800 yen)

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)