Prices have continued to rebound in China's domestic HDG market during the past week. For example, the price of SGCC 1.0 mm x 1,250 mm x C material produced by local steelmaker Angang has rebounded to RMB 4,750/mt, up from RMB 4,700/mt last Thursday.
Following last week's upward movement, domestic HDG prices in China this week posted a further increase, though by a smaller margin, mainly due to trader confidence and the influence of higher HR prices. In addition, inventories of HDG are not currently at high levels. Meanwhile, the transaction situation for HDG is not bad at present. Local HRC prices in China have this week been characterized by a fluctuating movement, with prices increasingly tending to move on a flat trend. In addition, with the weather in China getting colder, demand for steel is expected to shrink. In this general context, the current uptrend of HDG prices may start to follow a flatter trend in the coming week. Meanwhile, market players should also pay attention to the steel futures prices, which may exert a strong influence on the overall direction of spot steel prices in the domestic market.
Based on the situation observed this week, China's domestic HDG prices are still indicating a rebound. However, due to the influence of HR prices and the colder weather, local HDG prices may enter a flat trend in the week ahead.