Angang announces March price list
SteelOrbis Shanghai China's Liaoning province based integrated steelmaker Angang increased its flat product prices for March. The mill raised its base price of common carbon hot rolled products by RMB 280/mt ($35). The ex-factory price of Q235 2.75 mm reached RMB 2,830/mt ($352) excluding VAT, that of 5.5 mm products reached RMB 2,700/mt ($335) excluding VAT. Angang's freight subsidy for East China dropped to RMB 50/mt ($6) from the previous RMB 100/mt ($12). The company also hiked the base price of its cold rolled products by RMB 430/mt ($53). The ex-factory price of ST12 1.0 mm reached RMB 3,790/mt ($471) excluding VAT. This increase range is RMB 50/mt ($6) higher than the market expectation. Angang's new prices will be a support to the market where hot rolled product prices are going down. For example, Angang's new 5.5 mm HR coil price for March shipment to Shanghai is around RMB 3,270/mt ($406), which is higher than current market prices. Traders will prefer to buy from the market instead of the steelmaker.