During the week ending August 5, the Chinese domestic hot dip galvanized (HDG) steel market continued to trend upwards, but at a slower pace as compared to last week. The price increases were greater for thick specifications. As of August 5, the average prices of hot dip galvanized products 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 | 5,283 | +97 | 780 | +14 |
Thin HDG | 0.5 mm x 1,000 mm | SGCC | 5,477 | +50 | 809 | +7 |
In the past week, China's hot dip galvanized steel market observed a rising trend in line with the trends in the domestic hot and cold rolled coil markets. On the thick specification side, inventories are now at very low levels, with shortages even seen for some sizes. On the thin specification side, given the situation in the pre-painted galvanized iron market, it appears somewhat difficult for thin specifications to register large increases.
As the uptrend in prices continues, there is no news from the mills about halting production. Thus, many market players express concern about inventory in the future market. If end-user demand fails to improve in the coming period, increased inventory could have a direct negative impact on the pricing trend of galvanized steels.
According to the expectations of insiders, if sales activities do not recover, hot dip galvanized coil prices in China will likely decline in mid-August.