Mainstream ex-China steel plate offer prices from mills have been heard at $580-585/mt FOB for October shipment as of today, Monday, August 21, moving down by RMB 7.5/mt compared to August 14. Reference deal prices have been heard at $575/mt FOB to South America and Southeast Asia, declining by $5/mt compared to August 14.
During the given week, steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market have indicated a declining trend amid slightly increased production outputs. At the same time, the demand for steel plate has seen a slight improvement, resulting in decreasing inventory levels. On August 21, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has announced a cut in the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) by 10 basis points to 3.45 percent, while keeping the five-year LPR stable, at 4.2 percent, which was not as good as market participants had expected. Cautious sentiments still prevail among market players, though they expect a better market situation in September.
Average Q235 20 mm steel plate spot prices in China have lost RMB 23/mt ($3.2/mt) compared to August 14, standing at RMB 4,007/mt ($556.5/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of August 21, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,879/mt ($539/mt), decreasing by RMB 10/mt ($1.4/mt) or 0.26 percent since August 14, while down 0.79 percent compared to the previous trading day.
$1 = RMB 7.1987