Chinese domestic semi-finished steel market still moves on rising trend

During the week ending November 1, Chinese domestic semi-finished steel prices have accelerated their upward movement, while transaction activity in the overall market has remained at low-to-medium levels. Average prices of steel billet and slab in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.

During the given week, the rises in prices of coke, scrap and iron ore have pushed up the costs for semi-finished steel production, causing steelmakers to increase their sales prices for semi-finished steel. Since steelmakers' consumption of their own semi-finished steel has increased, their commercial sales volumes have decreased and this has provided support for semi-finished steel prices. It is thought that semi-finished steel prices in the Chinese market will likely move up further in the coming week.

All prices are ex-warehouse and on actual weight basis and include 17 percent VAT.
 
$1 = RMB 6.78