During the week ending April 27, mainstream quotations of pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) in the Chinese domestic market have been stable. Average prices of PPGI in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
Activity in China's PPGI market has been slack in the past week, while traders state that downstream demand has hit low levels. It is reported that recently some mills supplied large quantities of PPGI products directly to end-users, which has exerted a negative impact on business activity between traders and end-users. Ahead of the May Day holiday, purchasing activities have not shown any improvement, and traders are now hoping for a recovery in the post-holiday market.
Domestic mills' prices for May production are stable or have indicated an increase, and this has provided some support for PPGI market prices. Meanwhile, due to increased freight charges, some PPGI suppliers have seen reduced margins or recorded losses in their export activity. As a result, some of these suppliers have had to switch their focus from exports to the domestic market.
For the coming week, there seems to be little possibility of improvement in PPGI prices in China.