Major Chinese steelmaker Baosteel has issued its prices for carbon steel flat products for delivery in October this year.
The producer has decided to keep its local base prices stable for hot rolled coil (HRC), steel plate, acid pickling plate, cold rolled coil (CRC), hot dip galvanized (HDG), galvalume, medium-aluminum zinc aluminum magnesium, high-aluminum zinc aluminum magnesium, and non-grain-oriented silicon steel, while raising its local base price for pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) by RMB 30/mt ($4.2/mt), all for delivery in October.
Baosteel chose to keep its ex-works prices stable for delivery in October, mainly due to the reduction in domestic supply, which will ease the pressure on suppliers to attract orders from buyers, while consumption of steel is anticipated to rebound slowly. Moreover, it is thought that demand for steel in the traditional peak season of September and October will not be so impressive, and so the gap between supply and demand is unlikely to be eased, while keeping prices stable may delay the risk of decreasing profit margins.