During the week ending January 16, average prices of pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) in the Chinese domestic market have moved sideways compared to January 9, while transaction activity in the domestic market has been at low-to-medium levels.
Offer prices of ex-China PPGI have been heard between $570-600/mt, rising by $5/mt on average compared to that recorded on January 9.
Average PPGI prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
| Specification (mm) | Category | Average price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
| 0.476 x 1,000 | CGCC | 4,730 | -10 | 675 | - |
| 0.426 x 1,000 | CGCC | 4,890 | -10 | 698 | - |
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 remained stable. Since the Chinese New Year holiday is approaching, PPGI producers in northern China have been receiving fewer orders, exerting a negative impact on prices. HRC futures prices have indicated slight rises, providing some support for prices in the spot market. Meanwhile, the PBOC has announced interest rate cuts for various structural monetary policy tools by 0.25 percentage points, with one-year re-lending rates for various categories reduced to 1.25 percent, and this is likely to bolster market sentiments in the near future. It is thought that PPGI prices in the Chinese domestic will likely move sideways in the coming week.
As of January 16, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,315/mt ($473/mt), increasing by RMB 21/mt ($3/mt) or 0.6 percent since January 9, while rising by 0.33 percent compared to the previous trading day, January 15.
$1 = RMB 7.0078
