During the week ending September 22, domestic billet prices in Shanxi Province have indicated a decreasing trend, though billet prices have remained stable in other regions with slab prices also moving sideways, while transaction activity in the overall market has been at low levels. Average prices of steel billet and slab in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
During the given week, since finished steel prices have been softening, some small steelmakers have reduced their finished steel production activities, negatively affecting transaction activity in the domestic semi-finished steel market. Meanwhile, prices of iron ore and coke have been fluctuating within a certain range, making it difficult to reduce production costs for semi-finished steel, As a result, steelmakers are unwilling to make significant reductions to their semi-finished steel prices. As the Mid-Autumn Festival (September 26-27) and National Day Holiday (October 1-7) are approaching, semi-finished steel prices will likely move on a stable trend in the coming week.
| Product Name | Spec. | Category | City | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change (RMB/mt) |
| 150 mm x 150 mm | Q195-Q235 | Tangshan | 1,750 | 275 | 0 | |
| Jinzhong | 1,730 | 272 | ↓20 | |||
| Fuzhou | 1,800 | 283 | 0 | |||
| Jiangyin | 1,840 | 289 | 0 | |||
| Average price | 1,780 | 279 | ↓5 | |||
| 150 mm x 150 mm | 20 MnSi | Tangshan | 1,880 | 295 | 0 | |
| Jinzhong | 1,850 | 290 | ↓30 | |||
| Fuzhou | 1,900 | 298 | 0 | |||
| Jiangyin | 1,950 | 306 | 0 | |||
| Average price | 1,895 | 297 | ↓8 | |||
| Slab | 250*1800*6000 | Q235 | Tangshan,Hebei | 1,750 | 275 | 0 |
The prices are on actual weight basis, 17 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.37