During the week ending January 28, steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market have seen an overall rising trend, though transaction activity has been quiet. Average steel plate prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
At the beginning of last week, against the background of the downtrend in the steel futures market, falling prices of semi-finished steel products and sluggish demand from downstream users, traders cut their prices in order to speed up sales activity. However, on January 22 Baosteel issued its price policy for March delivery, raising its medium plate prices by RMB 100/mt ($16/mt) and boosting traders' confidence in the prospects for the future market. As a result, in the past week steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market have indicated upward movement.
It is expected that the Chinese domestic steel plate market will move sideways in the coming week.