Mainstream ex-China steel plate offer prices from mills have been heard at $900-930/mt FOB for September shipment as of today, Monday, July 19, moving up by $30/mt on average compared to that recorded on July 12. The tradable price level has also increased, even though demand has not shown signs of improvement. Chinese mills could sell at $890-910/mt FOB to South America and Southeast Asia now, up by $860-900/mt FOB last week. The rising trend in local steel plate prices and HRC futures prices bolstered ex-China steel plate offer prices.
During the given week, domestic plate prices have seen big rises amid the prevailing bullish sentiments among market players due to the increasing HRC futures prices and expected production cuts. However, demand for steel plate has been slack in traditional offseason, which weakened the support to its prices. The inventory of steel plate has indicated slight declines. It is thought that steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market may fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
Average Q235 20 mm steel plate spot prices in China have gained RMB 243/mt ($37.6/mt)week on week, to RMB 5,676/mt ($877.3/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of July 19, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 5,926/mt ($916/mt), increasing by RMB 98/mt ($15.1/mt) or 1.68 percent since July 12.
$1 = RMB 6.47
