Under the influence of the strong uptrend in steel futures prices, steel plate traders are now more confident than they were before. In addition, after domestic mills announced hikes in their steel plate offer prices, spot prices of steel plate in China have also risen. Finally, in the last couple of weeks there has been a noticeable decrease in market inventory of steel plate in China, especially in eastern China, and this has provided support for the upward movement of market prices of steel plate.
As of March 2, total steel plate inventory in the main Chinese cities amounted to 1,579,600 mt, down 23,300 mt week on week.
It is expected that the Chinese steel plate market will continue to climb up further in the coming week.