According to a report released by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), in November this year China’s domestic finished steel market has entered the slack season due to cold weather in northern China and so finished steel prices and iron ore prices have indicated sharp decreases in the given month.
Accordingly, most Chinese domestic steel enterprises have decreased their finished steel prices for December shipment. In particular, Shagang Group’s rebar prices have decreased by RMB 120/mt ($19/mt), Shougang’s cold rolled coil (CRC) prices are down by RMB 100/mt ($16/mt), Ansteel’s CRC prices have declined by RMB 160/mt ($25/mt), and Hebei Steel’s CRC and hot rolled coil (HRC) prices are both down by RMB 200/mt ($31/mt).
Meanwhile, since China has entered the traditional slack season for business due to the cold winter weather, it is thought that finished steel inventory will likely increase in December, which will exert negative pressure on finished steel prices. It is thought that China’s finished steel prices will likely continue their downward movement in the coming period.