According to China Logistics Information Center (CLIC), commodity prices in China have edged down very slightly by 0.01 percent month on month in April this year, declining for the fourth consecutive month on month-on-month basis, though the declining trend has slowed down.
In particular, in April, the average prices of finished steel in China decreased by 1.2 percent month on month, with the average prices of raw coal decreasing by 2.3 percent month on month.
According to CLIC, in April Chinese steelmakers’ capacity utilization rates increased, increasing the finished steel supply to the domestic market. At the same time, demand from downstream users improved, resulting in prices rises seen in finished steel in the latter half of April. However, in the first half of April, finished steel prices had been moving downwards, and so overall average prices for April indicated a decline as compared to the previous month.