During the week ended July 23, steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market registered stronger downward movement. Average prices of steel plate products in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
In the given week, Jiangxi Province-based Chinese steelmaker Pingxiang Steel announced a cut of RMB 170/mt ($26/mt) in its Q235 steel plate prices for the eastern Chinese market. Meanwhile, as of July 23 the slab sales price in Tangshan has declined to RMB 3,370/mt ($533/mt).
Despite low market inventory levels, traders are still not inclined to replenish their stocks. Traders have been busy selling off plate products in the past few months amid the ongoing downtrend of prices. In addition, they are still continuing to reduce their prices even though price cuts have a limited impact in efforts to attract new orders.
Traders remain pessimistic on the prospects for the market. It is expected that the Chinese steel plate market will continue its soft trend in the coming seven days.