Mainstream ex-China steel plate offer prices from mills have mostly been heard at $515-535/mt FOB for late November shipment as of today, Monday, August 31, moving up by $15/mt on average week on week, amid the high levels of iron ore prices and the rising trend in the local market.
Deal prices have been heard at $505-515/mt FOB, for small volumes to South America and Southeast Asia, moving up by $2.5/mt on average over the past week. However, demand from overseas markets has slackened to some extent.
During the given week, after major steelmakers raised their ex-works prices for steel plate, traders increased their prices in the spot market. However, demand is still not high, which has resulted in slight rises in inventory. It is thought that steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market will fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
Average Q235 20 mm steel plate spot prices in China have edged up by RMB 10/mt ($1.5/mt) week on week to RMB 3,996/mt ($582.5/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of August 31, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,011/mt ($584.7/mt), increasing by RMB 74/mt ($10.8/mt) or 1.9 percent since August 24, mainly due to the sharp rise on August 31.
$1 = RMB 6.8605
