On May 12, China's State Bureau of Material Reserve (SBMR) announced that it will open bids on part of its steel reserves on May 20 in the Xicheng area of Beijing, with a total of 27,000 mt on auction.
The steels in question, mostly imported from Japan, West Germany, Britain and other countries in the 1980s have suffered corrosion of varying degrees. The products include common carbon cold rolled sheet, galvanized cold rolled sheet, medium plate, welded pipe, seamless pipe, round bar, oil casing pipe, I-beam, angle and cold rolled oriented silicon steel sheet.
Following the publication of the news, many domestic steel mills reduced their prices on the same day. Shanxi Province-based Jingang Steel, Guangzhou city-based Guangzhou steel and Shandong Province-based Qingdao Steel have all adjusted their price lists downward by around RMB 50/mt.