During the past week, the Chinese medium plate market has continued its slight downtrend in prices. As of May 16, the average prices of medium plate in China's major markets are as follows:
Product name |
Specification |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
Common carbon medium plate |
20 mm |
Q235 |
4,997 |
-30 |
776 |
-5 |
Low alloy medium plate |
20 mm |
Q345 |
5,085 |
-25 |
780 |
-4 |
16 mm |
CCS A/B |
5,407 |
-10 |
829 |
-2 |
According to traders, there have been fewer inquiries in the medium plate market in the past week, due to the impact of the hot weather, and the volume of market transactions has been insufficient. Influenced by strong fluctuations in the steel futures market, by the wait-and-see attitude of downstream customers and by traders' increased eagerness to shift materials, the Chinese medium plate market has maintained its downtrend in the past week.
Regarding inventory, on May 13 the aggregate inventory of medium plate in China's main markets was 1,510,420 mt, up 37,910 mt compared with May 6. On the same date, total inventory of medium plate in the Shanghai market was 377,290 mt, up 1,900 mt week on week.
China's crude steel output reached 59.03 million mt in April, up by 7.1 percent on year-on-year basis. The average daily output for the month was a record 1.968 million mt. Meanwhile, the cities of Jiangyin and Zhangjiagang in Jiangsu Province have introduced power rationing measures, which will be effective from June to September, and which may influence steel output volumes.
For the coming week, the Chinese medium plate market is expected to be characterized by slight fluctuations.