During the week ending September 3, the Chinese pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) steel market has shown a slight uptrend, while most traders have gained some relief from inventory pressure. As of September 3, the average PPGI prices in most Chinese regions are shown as below:
Product name | Specification | Category | Average price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change ($/mt) |
PPGI | 0.476 mm x 1,000 mm | CGCC | 6,487 | +20 | 955 | +3 |
PPGI | 0.426 mm x 1,000 mm | CGCC | 7,003 | +13 | 1,031 | +2 |
At present, CGCC 0.476 mm x 1,000 mm PPGI is sold in the Shanghai, Guangzhou and Boxing markets at RMB 6,310/mt ($929/mt), RMB 6,750/mt ($994/mt) and RMB 6,400/mt ($943/mt) respectively. At the same time, CGCC 0.426 mm x 1,000 mm prices stand at RMB 6,460/mt ($951/mt), RMB 6,800/mt ($1,001/mt) and RMB 7,750/mt ($1,141/mt) in the above respective markets.
In the Shanghai market, as local traders had recently been acting cautiously in terms of making new purchases, PPGI materials were in short supply in the past week. In this context, many traders are hopeful that PPGI prices will stay at high levels in the short run.
In the Boxing market, end-user demand has not yet been fully released, and so some producers have reduced their offers in negotiations in order to attract orders.
In the Guangdong market, local traders have been eager to build up inventories, though it may be hard to see further increases in PPGI prices due to the uncertainties existing in the upstream industries.
While demand levels differ much depending on the regions, the common feature among the various regions is that players are no longer under pressure from market inventory. It is expected that the Chinese pre-painted galvanized iron market will fluctuate on an uptrend in the coming week.