During the week ending March 19, average hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market have edged up by a small margin, while activity in the market has been at medium levels. Average HRC prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
During the given week, HRC demand from downstream users has improved, resulting in price rises in the spot market. However, HRC futures prices at Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) have moved down in the given week, exerting negative pressure on the HRC market. Chinese premier Li Keqiang has stated that the value-added tax rate of 16 percent in manufacturing and other industries will be reduced to 13 percent as of April 1. Thus, the cost of steel production will be lowered, which will weaken the support for HRC prices, while the burden on producers will be eased at the same time. It is thought that HRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will move sideways in the coming week.
|
Product Name |
Spec. |
Quality |
City |
Steel Plant/Origin |
Price (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
|
Medium HRC |
5.75 mm x 1,500 mm x C |
Q235B/SS400 |
Shanghai |
Ansteel |
3,870 |
577 |
↑20 |
|
Tianjin |
Ansteel |
3,820 |
569 |
↑30 |
|||
|
Lecong |
Liuzhou Steel |
3,880 |
578 |
↑10 |
|||
|
Average |
- |
3,857 |
575 |
↑20 |
|||
|
Thin HRC |
2.75 mm x 1.,250 mm x C |
Q23 5B |
Shanghai |
Ansteel |
3,960 |
590 |
↑20 |
|
Tianjin |
Tangshan Steel |
3,950 |
589 |
↑30 |
|||
|
Lecong |
Lianyuan Steel |
3,940 |
587 |
↑10 |
|||
|
Average |
- |
3,957 |
590 |
↑20 |
16 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.71