The Chinese domestic steel section market has on average seen a slight downward movement in prices during the past week, with some market players reducing their prices and others keeping their prices stable.
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 $479/mt in the Tangshan market and at $535/mt in the Guangzhou market. Meanwhile, prices of 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm steel channels stand at $513/mt in the Shanghai market, at $484/mt in Tangshan and at $552/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 $540/mt, $489/mt and $544/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 soften slightly in the past week. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 2,660/mt ($429/mt), the price of 165 x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at RMB 2,690/mt ($434/mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is at around RMB 2,800/mt ($442/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.
While prices in the Chinese domestic steel section market have on average decreased slightly in the past seven days, the downward movement of prices has been smaller than in the previous week. Overall trading activity in the market is still slack. It is believed that weakness of demand and reductions in mills' quoted prices are the main factors behind the soft trend of the steel section market. Sentiment is still negative among traders. Low trading volumes have caused some traders to reduce their quotations, while other traders have not changes their price levels. As for next week, it is thought that domestic steel section prices may fluctuate on a soft trend.