During the week ending April 10, average prices of pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) in the Chinese domestic market have remained stable compared to April 3, while transaction activity in the domestic market has been at low-to-medium levels.
Offer prices of ex-China PPGI have been heard at $615-635/mt, edging up slightly on average compared to April 3.
Average PPGI prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
| Specification (mm) | Category | Average price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
| 0.476 x 1,000 | CGCC | 4,763 | - | 694 | - |
| 0.426 x 1,000 | CGCC | 4,923 | - | 717 | - |
13 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
During the given week, PPGI prices in the Chinese domestic market have moved sideways amid the increasing capacity utilization rates on the steelmakers’ side. Inventories of PPGI have decreased, bolstering prices firmly. Demand for PPGI from downstream users has improved, exerting a positive impact on prices. However, iron ore prices have moved down, which may weaken the support for PPGI prices from the cost side. It is thought that PPGI prices in the Chinese domestic market will edge up slightly in the coming week.
As of April 10, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,273/mt ($476/mt), decreasing by RMB 12/mt ($1.7/mt) or 0.36 percent since April 3, while decreasing by 0.12 percent compared to the previous trading day, April 9.
$1 = RMB 6.8929