In the past week, the Chinese hot dip galvanized (HDG) market has continued to decline. The average HDG prices in the main markets in China are as follows:
Product name |
Specification |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
Thick HDG |
1.0 mm x 1,250 mm |
SGCC |
5,133 |
-50 |
808 |
-8 |
Thin HDG |
0.5 mm x 1,000 mm |
SGCC |
5,280 |
-33 |
831 |
-5 |
As of November 17, the price of SGCC 1.0 mm x 1,250 mm x C galvanized products in the markets of Shanghai, Guangzhou and Boxing respectively stands at RMB 5,100/mt ($803/mt), RMB 5,300/mt ($835/mt) and RMB 5,000/mt ($787/mt); meanwhile, the price of SGCC 0.5 mm x 1,000 mm x C stands at RMB 5,230/mt ($824/mt), RMB 5,750/mt ($906/mt) and RMB 4,860/mt ($765/mt) in the above respective markets. These prices include 17 percent VAT ($1 = RMB 6.35).
In the Chinese HDG market, traders are adopting a wait-and-see stance, and most are pessimistic on the prospects for the market in the future. A variety of lower prices in the market has brought mainstream market prices down. It is learned that the inventories of larger producers are nearly at normal levels, though stocks of some specifications are on the short side. Meanwhile, traders are mainly keeping their inventories stable and are avoiding rash purchases of lower-priced cargos.
Due to negative factors in the market such as the price decreases lately announced by steel mills, traders lack confidence in the future market trend. Accordingly, it is expected that the Chinese HDG market will continue to move in a downward direction in the coming week.