On October 22, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced that during last week (Oct. 14-20) the overall average finished steel price in China declined by 0.1 percent week on week.
In the given week, average prices of 3 mm hot rolled sheet, 80 mm x 43 mm x 5 mm channel steel and 6.5 mm high-speed wire rod decreased by 0.2 percent, 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent week on week, respectively.
In the week ending October 20, average prices of minerals in China were up 1.3 percent compared to the previous week. In particular, the average prices of iron ore, copper ore, lead ore and zinc ore were up 1.5 percent, 0.8 percent, 0.4 percent and 0.4 percent week on week, respectively. Meanwhile, the average prices of antimony ore and tungsten ore were unchanged.
In the given week, average prices of energy in China were up 0.1 percent week on week. The average price of raw coal was up by 0.3 percent, the average price of metallurgical coke was unchanged, while the average price of crude oil was down by 0.2 percent, all week on week.