During the week ending March 17, average prices of pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) in the Chinese domestic market have seen an uptrend, though transaction activity in the domestic market has been at low-to-medium levels. Average PPGI prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
Offer prices of ex-China PPGI have been heard at $845-855/mt, edging up by $10/mt compared to last week.
|
Specification (mm) |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
|
0.476 x 1,000 |
CGCC |
6,120 |
50 |
886 |
7 |
|
0.426 x 1,000 |
CGCC |
6,180 |
50 |
895 |
7 |
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 indicated an uptrend amid China’s stimulus policies bolstering market players’ sentiments. However, some market players think demand has not improved as well as they had expected. Meanwhile, the banking crisis in the US has also negatively affected the PPGI market. For instance, HRC futures prices saw big declines on March 15 and March 16. Since March is regarded as the traditional peak business season for PPGI, which will provide support for prices, it is expected that PPGI prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
As of March 17, HRC futures prices at Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) are standing at RMB 4,359/mt ($632/mt), down RMB 37/mt ($5.4/mt) or 0.84 percent from RMB 4,396/mt on March 10.
$1 = RMB 6.9052