Mainstream ex-China steel plate offer prices from mills have been heard at $695/mt FOB for May shipment as of today, Monday, March 20, moving up by $15/mt compared to March 13. Reference deal prices have been heard at $685/mt FOB to South America and Southeast Asia, also increasing by $15/mt compared to March 13. This has been explained by the higher level of other flat steel product prices during previous weeks while plate quotations were stable, and so the recent increase has been assessed simply as a delayed development.
During the given week, steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market have moved down slightly amid the cautious sentiments among market players following rises over the past few weeks. Steel plate producers have been eager to produce, resulting in the slight increase in supply volume. Meanwhile, the decline in inventory levels has slowed down. On March 20, import iron ore prices moved down sharply, which will weaken the support for steel plate prices from the cost side. 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 lost RMB 7/mt ($1.0/mt) compared to March 13, standing at RMB 4,540/mt ($661/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of March 20, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,305/mt ($627/mt), decreasing by RMB 154/mt ($22.4/mt) or 3.5 percent since March 13.
$1 = RMB 6.8694
