The Chinese domestic steel section market has mostly moved on a stable trend in the past week, though with slight decreases in prices also seen.
In the Shanghai market, the price of 50 mm x 50 mm x 5 m steel angles is now at $484/mt. The same product is sold at $444/mt in the Tangshan market and at $508/mt in the Guangzhou market. Meanwhile, prices of 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm steel channels stand at $474/mt in the Shanghai market, at $440/mt in Tangshan and at $534/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 $481/mt, $458/mt and $527/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 week on week. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 2,440/mt ($399/mt), the price of 165 x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at RMB 2,470/mt ($404/mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is at around RMB 2,560/mt ($418/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.
Although the Chinese domestic steel section market has mainly been characterized by a stable trend in the past seven days, slight downticks in prices have been observed for certain products in certain markets. Overall trading activity is still sluggish. Due to pollution problems, outputs of some steel mills in central China will be limited in November, which will reduce supply volumes in the market. It is believed that steel section prices in China will mostly follow a stable trend in the coming week.