[Ferro-Alloys.com]Tokyo — Japanese special steel producer Daido Steel Tuesday raised its stainless bar and section prices for July contracts (September delivery) by 10%.

Daido does not release its list prices, but current market prices for SUS304 bars (25-100 mm diameter) in Tokyo are Yen 530,000/mt ($4,805/mt) and for SUS403 bars (13 chrome) are Yen 380,000/mt, sources said.

Daido officials were unavailable for comment Wednesday. The steelmaker in a statement said it last raised prices 10% for its February contracts to reflect higher alloy costs, but alloy prices have continued to rise since, necessitating the latest hike.

Daido said its production of stainless bars and sections remains high, supported by firm demand from machine tool makers and from the semiconductor sector.

A Tokyo-based trader said Wednesday that orders for stainless bars and sections have been increasing to such an extent that producers cannot fully meet demand and are having to limit their acceptance of orders.

"We understand the hike was for producers to keep stable production, but the previous hike hasn't been absorbed in the market; distributors will have to take stronger stances on their prices," he said.

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• [Editor:Jiang Li Juan ]