Ex-China steel plate export prices have remained stable over the past week amid relatively stable prices for local plate and continuous fluctuations in HRC futures prices in China.
Specifically, mainstream ex-China steel plate offer prices from mills have been heard at $475-490/mt FOB for March shipment as of today, Monday, January 19, moving sideways compared to last week. Besides, the reference deal prices have been heard at $470-485/mt FOB to South America, Africa and the Middle East.
During the given week, steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market have fluctuated within a limited range amid steady outputs and sluggish demand from downstream users. Although the PBOC has announced interest rate cuts for various structural monetary policy tools by 0.25 percentage points, with one-year re-lending rates for various categories reduced to 1.25 percent, the financial market in China has not performed as well as expected, which has negatively affected the steel market. Meanwhile, a wave of extremely cold weather is going to hit China, which will exert a negative impact on the demand for steel plate and drag down prices. 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 gained RMB 4/mt ($0.6/mt) compared to January 12, standing at RMB 3,367/mt ($481/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of January 19, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,299/mt ($471/mt), decreasing by RMB 12/mt ($9/mt) or 0.4 percent since January 12, while down 0.75 percent compared to the previous trading day, January 16.
$1 = RMB 7.0028