Ex-China steel plate export prices have remained stable over the past week, but the market mood has been rather negative amid lower futures prices and a slowdown in demand.
Specifically, mainstream ex-China steel plate offer prices from mills have been heard at $525-535/mt FOB as of today, Monday, June 8, moving sideways on average compared to June 1.
Some offers for Q235B plate from China have been at $553-557/mt CFR in Southeast Asia, while offer levels for Q355B have been around $20/mt higher.
The lowest tradable level for heavy plate from China has been heard at $520-525/mt FOB to South America, Africa and the Middle East.
During the given week, steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market have seen slight declines amid relatively stable production capacity utilization rates. Downstream users have only purchased as needed, exerting a negative impact on steel plate prices. On June 8, due to the sharp decline in Asian stock markets, the stock market in China also indicated decreases, negatively affecting market sentiments. It is expected that steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market will edge down slightly in the coming week.
Average 20 mm Q235 20 steel plate spot prices in China have lost RMB 13/mt ($1.9/mt) compared to June 1, standing at RMB 3,530/mt ($518/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of June 8, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,373/mt ($495/mt), decreasing by RMB 27/mt ($4.0/mt) or 0.8 percent since June 1, while down 0.15 percent compared to the previous trading day, June 5.
$1 = RMB 6.8198
