Chinese medium plate market fluctuates slightly

During the past week the Chinese medium plate market registered a mixed performance in the various regions, with prices showing slight fluctuations.

Currently, the medium plate market in the north of China looks stronger than the markets in the southern regions. Last week, influenced by the price decline of hot rolled coils, medium plate prices in southern China posted a minor slide. Meanwhile, the volume of materials from Shaoguan Steel recently began to increase compared with previous times, while successive arrivals of supplies from the north were also observed; as a result, there is currently strong inventory pressure on the market. As regards market performance, in recent days actual deal prices have been much lower than market quotation levels.

In eastern China, brisk commercial activity has been observed in terms of materials from second and third tier mills during the past week, while trading of supplies from first tier mills has seemed quite slack; consequently, there has been a rise in bottom price levels. Moreover, the active trading of low-price materials has also strengthened the confidence of traders, since they can see that demand still exists in the market. In addition, the northern market posted a relatively steady performance throughout the past week.

Due to the recent price increase, medium plate inventory began to show a minor decline; however, the latest figures indicate that although inventory went down on a weekly basis, it still posted a sharp year-on-year rise. According to the latest statistics, China's overall medium plate inventory totaled 1.249 million mt on April 24, down 1.2 percent week on week but up 24.5 percent year on year. In the context of reduced exports and weak domestic demand, it remains to be seen whether the market will be able to digest the newly-added inventory.