During the past week, steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market have trended upwards with minor increases witnessed. Meanwhile, buyers have not been showing much interest in concluding purchases. As of August 1, average steel plate prices in the main cities are as follows:
Product name |
Specification |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
|
Common carbon medium plate |
20 mm |
Q235 |
4,877 |
+20 |
757 |
+3 |
Low alloy medium plate |
20 mm |
Q345 |
5,010 |
+25 |
778 |
+4 |
Shipbuilding plate |
16 mm |
CCS A/B |
5,167 |
0 |
802 |
0 |
Amid hot weather conditions, many downstream enterprises have curbed their production given the electricity rationing measures imposed by the Chinese government. Traders in China's steel plate market are mostly cautious, resulting in slow market activity. In a context of high crude steel output in China, traders are worried about the future market. Fortunately, thanks to rises in raw material costs and mills' announcements of higher offer prices, the steel plate market in China is unlikely to see big price decreases.
Influenced by the lack of transactions, high-price offers have regressed to some extent, resulting in a contraction of the price gap in the market.
As of July 29, aggregate steel plate inventory in the main cities in China totaled 1.5 million mt, decreasing by 15,620 mt from the previous week. In the Shanghai market, medium plate inventory on the same date amounted to 375,520 mt, down 2,900 mt week on week.
It is thought that steel plate prices in the Chinese market will more or less follow a sideways trend in the coming week.