During the week ending May 9, the local steel scrap market in China has been characterized by diverse price trends in different regions, while transaction activity in the overall market has been at low levels. Average scrap prices in China’s main markets are presented in the following table.
In the first half of the past week, the significant rises in Chinese domestic steel billet and finished steel prices provided strong support for increases in domestic steel scrap prices. However, in the latter part of the week, the Chinese ferrous metal futures market declined sharply, exerting a negative influence on sentiment in the scrap market, while the significant declines in semi-finished steel prices also negatively impacted scrap prices. It is expected that scrap prices in the Chinese domestic market will move down slightly in the coming week.
| Product Name | Spec. | Origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change (RMB/mt) |
| HMS scrap | > 6 mm | Tianjin | 1,650 | 239 | ↑40 |
| Liupanshui | 1,480 | 214 | 0 | ||
| Zhangjiagang | 1,730 | 251 | ↑50 | ||
| Handan | 1,700 | 246 | ↑60 | ||
| Nanchang | 1,670 | 242 | ↓30 | ||
| Anyang | 1,530 | 222 | ↓10 | ||
| Jinan | 1,690 | 245 | ↓40 | ||
| Average | 1,636 | 237 | ↑10 |
All prices are ex-warehouse and include 17 percent VAT.
$1 = RMB 6.90