In the past week, the Chinese plate market has mostly moved, with the exception of shipbuilding plate which have remained unchanged. Average prices of steel plate in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
In the Chinese steel plate market, there are some positive factors such as lower inventory levels and increasing costs, although the market activity has continued to slow down. As of April 20, 2012, the aggregated inventory in Chinese steel plate market totalled 1.52 million mt, decreasing by 26,000 mt week on week. On producers' side, Taigang, Shougang Group and Pingxiang Iron and Steel Group have revised their steel plate ex-works prices upwards, a move which is likely to provide support also for market prices.
According to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), China's crude steel output totalled 61.58 million mt in March, with an average daily output of 1.99 million mt, slightly below the all-time record of 1.998 million mt on June 2011. On the other hand, some top executives from the People's Bank of China stated that they would decline deposit reserve ratio to release the liquidity of capital in the market, though adding that its effects will be limited.
Summing up, given low inventory levels and higher cost, steel plate market prices only have a small room for price increases. However, the actual softening in demand can hardly provide support for prices, and traders are cautious regarding future market. The Chinese plate market is expected to continue to fluctuate downwards.