Due to the three-day Dragon Boat Festival in China (June 14-16), the domestic HDG market has been quiet during the past week. While prices of thick HDG specifications have decreased slightly, prices of thin HDG have remained stable. As of June 17, average HDG prices in the main Chinese cities are as follows:
Product name | Specification | Category | Average price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change ($/mt) |
Thick HDG | 1.0 mm x 1,250 mm | SGCC | 5,143 | -20 | 754 | -3 |
Thin HDG | 0.5 mm x 1,000 mm | SGCC | 5,333 | - | 782 | - |
During the holiday period no big changes were seen in the Chinese HDG market, except from some new arrivals in the market, which mainly consisted of thick HDG specifications. On the first day after the holiday, i.e., June 17, few new orders have been placed by domestic customers. In the local market, most traders have kept their prices stable, though some have lowered their prices in response to the inactivity in the market.
For now, local offers for HDG products differ significantly depending on the various traders. Materials produced by Tangshan City-based Hengtong Steel and Liaoning Province-based Anshan Steel are quoted at high levels, with price gaps of up to RMB 200/mt ($29/mt) compared with other market offers.
Due to the surges observed in the overseas stock markets and futures markets during the holiday, the domestic steel futures market is expected to show a recovery.