SteelOrbis Shanghai
With the international
iron ore negotiation situation becoming clear with 19 percent rise in
iron ore price, semi-finished producers found the necessary ground to increase their prices globally.
The rise in
semis prices in international market also supported Chinese
semis price. The FOB Black Sea Port quotation for
CIS-origin
semis is $400-405/mt, $10/mt higher compared with two weeks ago. One week ago, the export price of Chinese 20MnSi
billet had reached $418-420/mt CFR Vietnam level. With the rise in domestic
semis prices this week, steel mills continued to hike their quotations, and the price of common carbon
billet increased to $405/mt FOB.
With the continuous rise in
semis price, some
semis manufacturers began thinking that prices would go down again. However, in view of international market factor, this kind of worry seems groundless. At present, it is hard to forecast how much further the prices may rise, but Chinese domestic
semis prices will certainly not drop before the international market prices begin dropping.
Basing on their high export prices, leading Chinese mills have hiked their ex- factory prices for domestic market, especially in East
China. Last week, major
rebar producer
Shagang Steel increased its
rebar prices by RMB 200/mt ($25) and
wire rod prices by RMB 150/mt ($19).
Baosteel hiked all products' ex-factory prices by RMB 200-500/mt ($25-62). Furthermore, it is estimated that the five steel mills in North
China will raise the
rebar price by RMB 200/mt ($25), which may be followed by some other mills.
Influenced by these two factors, finished steel market prices went up considerably. In particular, the rise in market price in East and South
China where
rebar price is relatively lower, pushed local
semis prices up dramatically. As rolling mills increased their
billet and
slab purchases,
semis manufacturers in Hebei province accepted more orders from steel mills in East and South
China. Therefore, they hiked their ex-factory prices continuously since last Monday.