Mainstream ex-China steel plate offer prices from mills have been heard at $630-640/mt FOB for October shipment as of today, Monday, August 22, moving down by $20/mt compared to August 15. Reference deal prices have been heard at $610-625/mt FOB to South America and Southeast Asia, down visibly from $640/mt FOB last week. Some deals have been reported in the mentioned range, but overall demand has been still thin.
During the given week, steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market have moved down amid the decreasing HRC futures prices. Meanwhile, the extremely high temperature in China continued to exert a negative impact on market players’ sentiments. At the same time, demand for steel plate remained slack. It is expected that steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
Average Q235 20 mm steel plate spot prices in China have moved down by RMB 53/mt ($7.8/mt) compared to August 15, standing at RMB 4,233/mt ($621/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of August 22, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,903/mt ($572/mt), decreasing by RMB 136/mt ($19.9/mt) or 3.4 percent since August 15.
$1 = RMB 6.8198
