Influenced by the overall trend in the local steel industry, the Chinese hot dip galvanized (HDG) steel market climbed up quickly in the week ending July 22. Mills have reduced their inventories, with some specifications now in short supply. Faced with the sudden increase of prices, domestic galvanized steel buyers started to place orders. As of July 22, the latest sales prices of HDG products in the Chinese market are as follows:
Product name | Specification | Category | Average price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change ($/mt) |
Thick HDG | 1.0 mm x 1,250 mm | SGCC | 5,050 | +137 | 746 | +20 |
Thin HDG | 0.5 mm x 1,000 mm | SGCC | 5,227 | +67 | 772 | +10 |
Influenced by the surge in the domestic steel futures market and the consequent improvement in semi-finished and long steel prices in China, the Chinese galvanized steel market has also observed an increase. Some mills have started to hold back supplies from the market, waiting for further increases.
In the previous period, some private sector galvanized steel processors received many orders and so they now have low levels of inventory. Despite the tightness of supplies, many traders are worried that the current uptrend will be short-lived without any support from actual demand.
Market players consider that, the faster prices are rising currently, the greater the risk in the market. As a result, some traders are still maintaining a cautious approach as regards new purchases.