Ex-China hot dip galvanized (HDG) prices from most mills have moved sideways this week, however, given the fluctuations in futures HRC prices during the past week, some offers from Chinese traders have been reported at slightly lower levels, while trade has remained limited so far.
Specifically, offers from large mills have been still estimated at around $735-740/mt FOB for February shipment, moving sideways compared to last week. Meanwhile, the reference deal prices for ex-China HDG have been heard at around $695-720/mt FOB, versus $720/mt FOB last week.
During the given week, HDG prices in the Chinese domestic market have remained stable while futures HRC prices which were showing decrease last week, have indicated a slight rise this week, though market insiders have continued to emphasize slack demand from downstream users. Besides, the large-scale cold weather exerted a negative impact on market sentiments. Inventory consumption slowed down, while the relatively high-leveled raw materials prices bolstered HDG prices to a certain degree. It is expected that HDG prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
Average 1.0 mm SGCC hot dip galvanized spot prices in China have remained stable compared to December 14, standing at RMB 4,827/mt ($680/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of December 21, HRC futures prices at the Shanghai Future Exchange are standing at RMB 4,097/mt (577$/mt), moving up by RMB 50/mt ($7/mt) or 1.23 percent compared to December 14.
$1 = RMB 7.1012
