Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co Ltd , Japan's top electric-arc furnace steelmaker, said on Monday it will raise steel product prices by 2-3% in May from this month's prices to reflect higher materials costs and improving local demand.

This is the third month the company is raising prices for its steel products, including its main H-shaped beams.

For May, prices for all products will go up by 3,000 yen ($24) a tonne, with hot-dip galvanized coils climbing by 2% to 152,000 yen ($1,201) a tonne and steel bars, including rebar, rising by 3% to 102,000 yen. Prices of H beams will increase by 2.5% to 124,000 yen a tonne.

"We need to pass on rising various costs, including raw materials," Tokyo Steel said in a statement.

Domestic steel demand for construction is expected to pick up as the manufacturing industry is looking to invest in the local market while small- and medium-sized projects are also on a recovery trend, it added.

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 = 126.6000 yen)

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)