Having shown a consistently strong rising trend over the previous few weeks, plate prices in the Chinese domestic market have seen a slowdown in their upward movement over the past week. As of March 24, plate prices in China's main cities are as follows:
Product Name | Specification | Category | Average Price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change ($/mt) |
Common carbon medium plate | 20 mm | Q235 | 4,443 | +57 | 652 | +8 |
Low alloy medium plate | 20 mm | Q345 | 4,590 | +50 | 673 | +7 |
Shipbuilding plate | 16 mm | CCS A/B | 4,690 | +100 | 688 | +15 |
In spite of local mills' efforts to push up their plate prices, many traders have started to sell off inventories due to their concerns that price levels could post a sudden drop. Meanwhile, the downstream industries have slowed down their purchasing pace. In this context, market prices have lost some of their momentum.
On the mills' side, domestic second tier mills are now offering plates at about RMB 4,690/mt ($688/mt) ex-works, including 17 percent VAT. In addition, Anhui Province-based Maanshan Steel has raised its medium plate price by RMB 300/mt ($44/mt) for late March, while Shougang Steel's medium plate price has risen by RMB 350/mt ($51/mt) for April.
Export offers of Q235 12-50 mm × 2,000-3,000 mm plates from China now stand at $650-680/mt FOB, up approximately $60/mt as compared to the week before. There are some actual deals concluded at this level. Currently, ex-CIS slabs are being quoted at $560/mt FOB, but a few bookings are still found in the Chinese market.