Lower upstream costs and weak activity impact local Chinese steel section market

Monday, 01 September 2014 17:42:57 (GMT+3)   |   Shanghai
       

The Chinese domestic steel section market has generally remained on a downward trend during the past week.

In the Shanghai market, the price of 50 mm x 50 mm x 5 m steel angles is now at $529/mt. The same product is sold at $456/mt in the Tangshan market and at $532/mt in the Guangzhou market. Meanwhile, prices of 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm steel channels stand at $510/mt in the Shanghai market, at $465/mt in Tangshan and at $544/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 $523/mt, $479/mt and $539/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 continued to decline during the past week. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 2,530/mt ($412/mt), the price of 165 x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at RMB 2,560/mt ($417/mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is at around RMB 2,650/mt ($432/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.

Both domestic mills' quotations for steel sections and traders' market prices have softened in the past seven days amid further declines in billet prices and weak trading activity in the market. However, the lower prices have not stimulated any improvement in demand. Sentiment among traders is quite poor and most are only purchasing in line with their needs in order to reduce risks. For the coming week, it is believed that the Chinese domestic steel section market will remain on a soft trend though decrease margins may be smaller compared to the past week.


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