Lacking support from the demand side, the Chinese pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) market has failed to continue the uptrend observed immediately after the National Day holiday, instead starting to follow a decreasing trend during the week ending October 15. As of October 15, the average sales prices of PPGI in the main Chinese regions are as follows:
Product name | Specification | Category | Average price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change ($/mt) |
PPGI | 0.476 mm x 1,000 mm | CGCC | 6,683 | -50 | 1,007 | -8 |
PPGI | 0.426 mm x 1,000 mm | CGCC | 7,240 | -33 | 1,090 | -5 |
At present, CGCC 0.476 mm x 1,000 mm PPGI is sold in the Shanghai, Guangzhou and Boxing markets at RMB 6,500/mt ($979/mt), RMB 7,100/mt ($1,069/mt) and RMB 6,450/mt ($971/mt) respectively. At the same time, CGCC 0.426 mm x 1,000 mm prices stand at RMB 6,600/mt ($994/mt), RMB 7,050/mt ($1,062/mt) and RMB 8,070/mt ($1,215/mt) in the above respective markets.
During the period under review, the sales prices of pre-painted galvanized iron products in most domestic regions have dropped down significantly. Private sector steel mills have reduced their prices considerably due to insufficient volumes of orders received, while domestic first tier mills have succeeded in keeping their prices firm as their products are now in short supply in the market. Many traders have chosen to adopt a wait-and-see strategy towards the future market.
In the past week, two leading Chinese steel producers, Baosteel Group and Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation (WISCO), have both released their pricing policies for November. While Baosteel has raised its PPGI prices by RMB 100/mt ($14/mt), WISCO has not made any changes to its prices. So far these price announcements have not triggered any fluctuations in the market.
With activity levels on the quiet side, it is expected that China's PPGI market will continue to follow a weak trend in the coming week.