Mainstream ex-China steel plate offer prices from mills have been heard at $920-960/mt FOB for September shipment as of today, Monday, July 26, moving up by $25/mt on average compared to that recorded on July 19.
At the same time, bullish moods of Chinese exporters have pushed up the tradable level, which has added $20/mt on average from last week to at least $920/mt FOB for South America and Southeast Asia, even though overall buying activity has been still limited. The rising trend in ex-China HRC prices provided certain support to steel plate offers.
During the given week, domestic steel plate prices in China have seen slight declines amid the fluctuating trend in ferrous metal futures prices. Cautious sentiments prevailed among market players, resulting in their decreasing offer prices for steel plate. Demand has remained slack in traditional offseason, especially the negative impact from flood in Henan, Hebei provinces and typhoon in Zhejiang and Shanghai. It is thought that steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely move sideways in the coming week.
Average Q235 20 mm steel plate spot prices in China have lost RMB 10/mt ($1.5/mt) week on week, standing at RMB 5,666/mt ($875/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of July 26, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 5,990/mt ($925/mt), increasing by RMB 64/mt ($9.9/mt) or 1.08 percent since July 19.
$1 = RMB 6.4763