Chinese flat rolled market remains stable overall

SteelOrbis Shanghai Over the past week, China's flat rolled prices maintained their stability, while a slightly weak performance was observed in the cold rolled market. Due to the considerable increase in market inventory, the traders hold different opinions concerning the future. On January 29, the average price quotation of 5.75 mm x 1,500 mm x C SS400 in Tianjin, Shanghai and Lecong was up RMB 20/mt ($3) week on week to RMB 3,990/mt ($513), while that of 2.75 mm x 1,250 mm x C Q235B was up RMB 27/mt ($3) to RMB 4,260/mt ($548). Meanwhile, the average price of 1.0 mm x 1,250 mm x 2,500 mm ST12 decreased RMB 6/mt ($1) to RMB 5,017/mt ($645), while that of 1.0 mm x 1,250 mm x C ST12 was down RMB 7/mt ($1) to RMB 5,000/mt ($643). With regards to hot rolled, the market moved steadily up last week, after several northern mills hiked their ex-factory prices, pushing up the local market prices. Although downstream demand declined, traders were still optimistic about the future. The market saw a stable performance in eastern China, as it waited for Shagang's February ex-factory prices to be released. Market players in Hangzhou made an attempt to raise prices, but failed because of the sluggish demand. The southern China market showed soft movement. Some traders sold their products at a low level, and so market prices saw a continuous but slight decline. Since prices are fluctuating at a high level in the domestic market, the Chinese mills continued to raise their export quotations in recent days, with the lower end of the spectrum at around $490-492/mt CFR Korea, while the higher end reached $490/mt FOB. As regards cold rolled, the market seemed flat during the past week, with a slight decline seen in the Shanghai market. At present, the trading performance is at normal levels, but most traders are busy stocking for the post-holiday market. All in all, the current market continues to fluctuate slightly. Most traders are optimistic about the future. Nevertheless, some of them express concerns about the likely negative effects on exports resulting from further changes to the export rebate policy, and are therefore cautious about the future market situation.