During the week ending July 18, average prices of pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) in the Chinese domestic market have edged down slightly, while transaction activity in the domestic market has been at low-to-medium levels. Offer prices of ex-China PPGI have been heard between $585-610/mt, moving up by $7.5/mt on average compared to that recorded on July 11.
Average PPGI prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
| Specification (mm) | Category | Average price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
| 0.476 x 1,000 | CGCC | 4,793 | -7 | 671 | -1 |
| 0.426 x 1,000 | CGCC | 4,970 | -7 | 695 | -1 |
13 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
During the given week, PPGI prices in the Chinese domestic market have seen slight declines as demand from downstream users has been slack. Prices of raw materials, including coke and coking coal have seen increases, bolstering PPGI prices firmly. However, the high temperature and frequent heavy rains in some regions of China negatively affected the demand for PPGI. It is expected that PPGI prices in the Chinese domestic market will fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
As of July 18, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,310/mt ($463/mt), decreasing by RMB 37/mt (5.2/mt) or 1.1 percent since July 11, while up 0.91 percent compared to the previous trading day, July 17.
$1 = RMB 7.1498