Positive signs in Chinese steel market

Due to the release of demand and the continuous decline in inventories, the Chinese steel market is now enjoying a new round of upward movement of prices. Market insiders also expect the startup of building projects for social housing to support the uptrend of steel prices in China.
 
Major domestic steel producer Baosteel Group has announced that it is hiking list prices of most hot rolled steel products by RMB 50/mt ($7.7/mt). In the past three months, Baosteel offers had continuously slid down in the domestic market.
 
During the past week, steel prices in Shanghai and Beijing have increased by RMB 30/mt ($4.6/mt) on average. As of July 8, the carbon billet price in Tangshan was RMB 4,270/mt ($659/mt), up RMB 90/mt ($13.9/mt) week on week.
 
Meanwhile, aggregate construction steel inventory in major cities in China has reached 6.87 million mt, down 89,400 mt compared to the previous week.