Low inventory and slack activity in Chinese domestic steel section market

The Chinese domestic steel section has mostly continued to move on an upward trend in the past week.
 
In the Shanghai market, the price of 50 mm x 50 mm x 5 m steel angles is now at $437/mt. The same product is sold at $396/mt in the Tangshan market and at $457/mt in the Guangzhou market. Meanwhile, prices of 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm steel channels stand at $429/mt in the Shanghai market, at $416/mt in Tangshan and at $484/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 $441/mt, $448/mt and $506/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 softened slightly in the past seven days. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 2,250/mt ($338/mt), the price of 165 x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at RMB 2,280/mt ($342/mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is at around RMB 2,370/mt ($356/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.
 
Low inventories have provided support for the increases in domestic steel section prices in the past week, though trading activity has remained slack. Traders' higher costs have also caused them to raise their prices further. As for the coming week, it is believed that domestic steel section prices may continue to increase, but at a slower rate.

$1 = RMB 6.66