During the week ending October 13, domestic billet prices in China have mostly indicated a stable trend, though decreases have been seen in billet prices in Fujian, 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 prices of raw materials including iron ore and coke have indicated slower decreases compared to semi-finished steel prices, domestic steelmakers have not been in a hurry to reduce their ex-works prices for semi-finished steel. However, the slack demand in the finished steel market in China will exert a negative impact on domestic semi-finished steel prices. It is thought that semi-finished steel prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely move on a stable trend in the coming week, though regions where prices are at higher levels may see a slight downtrend in prices.
| Product Name | Spec. | Category | City | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change (RMB/mt) |
| Billet | 150 mm x 150 mm | Q195-Q235 | Tangshan | 1,700 | 268 | 0 |
| Jinzhong | 1,680 | 265 | 0 | |||
| Fuzhou | 1,740 | 274 | ↓30 | |||
| Jiangyin | 1,800 | 284 | 0 | |||
| Average price | 1,730 | 273 | ↓8 | |||
| Billet | 150 mm x 150 mm | 20 MnSi | Tangshan | 1,830 | 289 | 0 |
| Jinzhong | 1,800 | 284 | 0 | |||
| Fuzhou | 1,840 | 290 | ↓30 | |||
| Jiangyin | 1,900 | 300 | 0 | |||
| Average price | 1,843 | 291 | ↓7 | |||
| Slab | 250*1800*6000 | Q235 | Tangshan,Hebei | 1,720 | 271 | 0 |
The prices are on actual weight basis, 17 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.34