In the week ending July 28, average hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market have continued the declining trend, while transaction activity in the overall market has remained slack. Average HRC prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
Although increases in domestic semi-finished steel prices have provided some support for finished steel prices, the slowdown in transaction activity due to the influence of hot weather conditions has caused HRC traders to lower their sales prices in the past week. However, it seems that HRC prices have now moved close to bottom levels. It is expected that HRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will fluctuate within a limited range at low levels in the coming week.
| Product Name | Spec. | Category | 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 | Tangshan Steel | 1,990 | 320 | ↓70 |
| Tianjin | Tangshan Steel | 2,060 | 332 | ↓40 | |||
| Lecong | Liuzhou Steel | 2,130 | 343 | ↓10 | |||
| Average | - | 2,060 | 332 | ↓40 | |||
| Thin HRC | 2.75 mm x 1.,250 mm x C | Q235B | Shanghai | Tangshan Steel | 2,290 | 369 | ↓80 |
| Tianjin | Tangshan Steel | 2,180 | 351 | 0 | |||
| Lecong | Lianyuan Steel | 2,310 | 372 | ↓20 | |||
| Average | - | 2,260 | 364 | ↓33 |
17 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.21