Ex-China hot dip galvanized (HDG) offer prices have moved sideways in the past week - continuing the stable trend seen in the previous week - due to limited trading days because of the Labor Day holiday. Offers are at $510-535/mt FOB for late June delivery this week. At the same time, tradable prices are still heard at $505-515/mt FOB, while most buyers have been maintaining a wait-and-see stance.
As for May, “Demand for HDG from overseas markets will continue to remain slack amid the weak performance in the automobile industry,” said a trader.
During the given week, HDG prices in the Chinese domestic market have edged up as buyers built up some stocks. Meanwhile, ferrous metal futures prices in China have also moved up, exerting a positive impact on the HDG market.
Average 1.0 mm SGCC hot dip galvanized spot prices in China have increased by RMB 10/mt ($1.4/mt) week on week to RMB 4,296/mt ($605.7/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of May 7, HRC futures prices at the Shanghai Future Exchange are standing at RMB 3,305/mt ($466/mt), increasing by RMB 94/mt ($13.3/mt) or 2.9 percent since April 30.
$1 = RMB 7.0931