During the week ending January 23, average prices of pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) in the Chinese domestic market have remained stable compared to January 16, while transaction activity in the domestic market has been at low-to-medium levels.
Offer prices of ex-China PPGI have been heard between $575-600/mt, rising by $2.5/mt on average compared to that recorded on January 16.
Average PPGI prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
| Specification (mm) | Category | Average price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
| 0.476 x 1,000 | CGCC | 4,730 | - | 675 | - |
| 0.426 x 1,000 | CGCC | 4,890 | - | 698 | - |
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 as transaction activities have slackened since the Chinese New Year holiday (February 14-23) is approaching. Some market players said that they may halt production by the end of this month as workers need go back home for the long holiday. Orders in hand have been insufficient, which may lead to early holidays. Inventories of PPGI may increase, which would exert a negative impact on prices. It is expected that PPGI prices in the Chinese domestic will soften in the coming week.
As of January 23, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,305/mt ($472/mt), decreasing by RMB 10/mt ($1.4/mt) or 0.3 percent since January 16, while rising by 0.52 percent compared to the previous trading day, January 22.
$1 = RMB 6.9929
