Product name |
Specification |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
HR |
5.75 mm x 1,500 mm |
Q235B |
4,830 |
-3 |
740 |
- |
HR |
2.75 mm x 1,250 mm |
Q235B |
4,917 |
-6 |
753 |
-1 |
On May 24, Q235/S400 5.75 mm hot rolled coil (HRC) prices stand at RMB 4,800/mt ($735/mt), RMB 4,740/mt ($726/mt) and RMB 4,950/mt ($758/mt) respectively in the Shanghai, Tianjin and Lecong markets. In addition, Q235 2.75 mm HRC stands at RMB 4,900/mt ($750/mt), RMB 4,800/mt ($735/mt) and RMB 5,050/mt ($773/mt) respectively in the abovementioned markets. All the above prices include 17 percent VAT (US$1 = RMB 6.53).
In the past week, demand for hot rolled coil (HRC) in China has been weak, while overall transaction activity has been tepid.
On the mills' side, main domestic mills, including Baosteel, Ansteel, WISCO, Shougang Group, etc., have all increased their June prices by RMB 50-150/mt ($7-22/mt). While Shandong Province-based Rizhao Steel is planning to carry out maintenance work on its 1,580 mm hot rolled production line, and this is expected to affect output of 100,000 mt, mainly of SPHC grade material.
As regards inventory, on May 20 the aggregate inventory of hot rolled products in China's main cities was 4,358,710 mt, down 65,770 mt week on week. On the same date, inventory in Shanghai was 1,558,470 mt, down 32,470 mt week on week.
Generally speaking, most traders are not very confident about the prospects for the market in June, and they may sell their HRC materials at reduced prices due to financial pressure. In this context, the Chinese hot rolled coil (HRC) market is expected to continue its weak trend in the coming week.