During the week ending June 18, the Chinese steel plate market has maintained its weak trend of the previous week. Average steel plate prices in the main Chinese markets can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
Due to weak end-user demand and the ongoing decreases in steel plate prices, traders have low expectations for the future market and have reduced their purchases.
Major domestic steel producer Baosteel has cut its steel plate prices for July delivery by RMB 150/mt ($23/mt), while Angang Steel has reduced its prices for steel plate by RMB 200/mt ($31/mt). Other major producers such as Shougang and Taigang have cut their steel plate prices by RMB 100/mt ($15/mt). The steel mills' price decreases reflect their unfavourable expectations for the future market. Given low market demand, many plate producers have started to carry out maintenance work. Accordingly, it is thought that outputs may decrease in the near term.
It is expected that the Chinese domestic steel plate market will indicate a further softening in the coming seven days.