In the past week, the domestic steel section market in China has generally declined. Traders are worried about the future trend of the market and have cut their prices in order to attract more orders. In addition, market inventory has increased slightly in eastern China in the past week. Accordingly, the downward trend in the domestic steel section market is expected to last for another while.
In the Shanghai market, the price of 50 mm x 50 mm x 5 m steel angles is now at $744/mt. The same product is sold at $704/mt in the Tangshan market and at $740/mt in the Guangzhou market. Meanwhile, prices of 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm steel channels stand at $744/mt in the Shanghai market, at $696/mt in Tangshan and at $743/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 $747/mt, $740/mt and $755/mt. The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.
Product name |
Specification |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
Angle |
50 mm x 50 mm x 5 m |
Q235 |
4,596 |
-46 |
708 |
-7 |
Channel |
160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 m |
Q235 |
4,670 |
-48 |
720 |
-7 |
I-beam |
250 mm x 118 mm x 10 m |
Q235 |
4,796 |
-12 |
739 |
-2 |
As for billet, prices in the Chinese market have fallen by a small margin in the past week. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 4,160/mt ($641/mt), the price of 165 x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at 4,190/mt ($646/mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is around RMB 4,280/mt ($659/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.
In the past week the steel section market of eastern China has followed a soft trend. Given the macroeconomic situation, traders are worried about the future and so have reduced their prices. However, end-user purchases have not improved. Analysts predict that section prices in eastern China will continue their weak trend in the coming week.
In the northern market, the weak tendency has become less pronounced and local traders are more willing to increase inventory levels. Moreover, billet prices in Tangshan are not as soft as they were, and so angle and I-beam prices have had greater support in the past week. For the coming week, a minor drop is expected in the steel section market in northern China.
In southern China, the trend of the market has remained weak, demand continues to be slack, while traders maintain a wait-and-see stance. Most traders favor selling stock first before replenishing with new material. Traders generally report tight availability of funds, while there appears to be little momentum for any upward movement in the market.