Mainstream ex-China steel plate prices have been heard at $485/mt FOB as of today, Monday, January 13, moving up by $2.5/mt on average week on week, rising from levels of $480-485/mt FOB in early January. At the same time, deals have been done at $480/mt FOB to Southeast Asia, supporting overall sentiments in the market. Bids are unlikely to change much for late March deliveries of Chinese plate as most suppliers will leave the market by the end of this week.
During the given week, demand in the local plate market has slackened ahead of the approaching Chinese New Year holiday. However, steelmakers and traders have raised their export offer prices for hot rolled coil (HRC), bolstering market sentiment.
Average Q235 20 mm steel plate spot prices in China have seen a slight drop of RMB 4/mt ($0.6/mt) week on week to RMB 3,896mt ($562.5/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of January 13, HRC futures at the Shanghai Future Exchange are standing at RMB 3,579/mt ($516.7/mt), decreasing by RMB 15/mt ($2.2/mt) or 0.42 percent since January 6.
$1 = RMB 6.926
