The Chinese domestic steel section market has been characterized by slight fluctuations in the past week, with different trends observed in certain local markets.
In the Shanghai market, the price of 50 mm x 50 mm x 5 m steel angles is now at $577/mt. The same product is sold at $515/mt in the Tangshan market and at $555/mt in the Guangzhou market. Meanwhile, prices of 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm steel channels stand at $563/mt in the Shanghai market, at $525/mt in Tangshan and at $597/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 $577/mt, $551/mt and $599/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 moved up slightly during the past week. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 2,890/mt ($471/mt), the price of 165 x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at RMB 2,920/mt ($476/mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is around RMB 3,010/mt ($490/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.
Certain local markets are suffering from slack trading activity, and so traders have chosen to reduce their steel section prices slightly. On the other hand, due to slight rises in billet prices and the lack of increases in supply volumes, other local markets have witnessed slight upticks in prices. Reductions in mills' quotations will exert downward pressure on the overall market even though traders have not yet started to purchase many new materials from the mills. Traders are still focused on selling their inventories for now, while domestic steel section prices may soften slightly downward in the coming week due to the weakness on the demand side.