The Chinese domestic steel section market has moved on a slight downtrend during the past week.
In the Shanghai market, the price of 50 mm x 50 mm x 5 m steel angles is now at $513/mt. The same product is sold at $432/mt in the Tangshan market and at $511/mt in the Guangzhou market. Meanwhile, prices of 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm steel channels stand at $497/mt in the Shanghai market, at $440/mt in Tangshan and at $534/mt in the Guangzhou market. In the Shanghai, Tangshan and Guangzhou markets, 250 mm x 118 mm x 10 m I-beam prices stand respectively at $500/mt, $468/mt and $527/mt. The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT. Steel section prices in the Chinese domestic market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
As for billet, prices in the Chinese domestic market have shown a small softening compared to the price levels one week ago. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 2,430/mt ($393/mt), the price of 165 x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at RMB 2,460/mt ($398/mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is at around RMB 2,550/mt ($403/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.
In the past seven days, billet prices in China first indicated a significant decrease before starting to move back up. This rising movement contributed to the slowing of the downward movement of prices in the domestic steel section market and some traders started to keep their prices stable. The overall trading volume in the market has improved a little. However, in the next few weeks low-cost products are expected to arrive in the market, reducing traders' purchase costs and creating more room for the downward movement of market prices. For the coming week, China's domestic steel section market is expected to continue to see slight decreases in prices.