In the past week, the Chinese steel plate market has followed a downward trend. As of November 14, the Chinese main plate market prices are as follows compared with last week.
Product name |
Specification |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
Common carbon medium plate |
20 mm |
Q235 |
4,253 |
-34 |
672 |
-5 |
Low alloy medium plate |
20 mm |
Q345 |
4,390 |
-25 |
694 |
-4 |
Shipbuilding plate |
16 mm |
CCS A/B |
4,673 |
-34 |
738 |
-5 |
US$ 1= RMB 6.33
In the Chinese steel plate market, market player are generally adopting a wait-and-see stance, due to the uncertainty caused by the European debt crisis and by fluctuating steel futures prices. As for the domestic steel mills, Baosteel has issued its price policy for December shipments, decreasing its ex-works steel plate prices by RMB 300/mt ($47/mt). At the same time, the prices of Tangshan Steel and Wenfeng Steel are at low levels. The prices of raw material such as iron ore and semi-finished steel have fallen, resulting in weakened support for the market, while softening demand continues to contribute to price erosion. However, the Chinese government's loosening of restrictions on lending is likely to ease the pressure caused by lack of availability of funds, and this will help restrict downward movement in the market.
Summing up, it is expected the Chinese steel plate market will continue to decline by a small margin in the coming week.