Against the background of climbing price levels in the Chinese medium plate market, some regional markets began to see weakened demand over the past week.
Product name |
Specification |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
Common carbon medium plate |
20 mm |
Q235 |
3,897 |
+104 |
571 |
+15 |
Low alloy medium plate |
20 mm |
Q345 |
4,075 |
+95 |
597 |
+14 |
16 mm |
CCS A/B |
4,083 |
+73 |
598 |
+11 |
During the past week, the northern China market entered a phase of temporary stability, with no obvious change seen in the market. End-side buyers have generally concluded their purchasing activities, while local mills have not made any big adjustment to their prices in recent days, thus contributing to the stable market movement in the past week.
In the south, following the continuous rise of market prices, trading of medium plate began to indicate a certain shrinkage. Currently, medium plate is offered at around RMB 3,930-3,950/mt ($575-578/mt) in the Lecong market, but there are few takers. As a result of the increased ex-factory prices from mills, traders have had no choice but to raise their prices accordingly, although it is still uncertain whether the market can accept the price increases.
The eastern market, which had previously registered quite a weak performance, posted a better trading performance in the past week compared to the abovementioned regions. In spite of the remarkable price growth, commercial activity still appears quite brisk in the east. Some optimistic traders have hiked their prices to RMB 3,900/mt ($571/mt), while others have continued to maintain their offers at RMB 3,830/mt ($561/mt).
Meanwhile, China's medium plate exports in June reached 174,000 mt, down 338,500 mt or 66.05 percent year on year, totaling $100 million in value, down $446 million or 81.68 percent compared with the same period last year. The average export price was $574.66/mt. Total January-June exports reached 1.3535 million mt, down 2.718 million mt or 66.76 percent, amounting to a total value of $1.166 billion, down $2.437 billion or 67.64 percent year on year.
Medium plate imports in June stood at 110,300 mt, up 8,700 mt or 8.59 percent year on year, totaling $72 million, down $11 million or 7.04 percent compared with the same month last year. The average import price was $1,329.57/mt. Total January-June medium plate imports came to 594,900 mt, down 31,800 mt or 5.07 percent, amounting to $944 million in value, down $18 million or 1.87 percent year on year.