During the week ending September 23, steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market have generally trended down amid low transaction activity. Average steel plate prices in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
Amid weak demand and reductions in ex-mill prices, steel plate prices have continued to move down in the Chinese market. As market analysts have indicated, recent booking activity has been slow, forcing more and more mills to offer discounts to fill orders. At present, the market is not under pressure from inventory levels, but traders are not enthusiastic about purchasing from producers. Although September is traditionally a good month for demand, downstream demand has not yet registered any significant recovery and so traders have become less optimistic. With the National Day holiday (Oct. 1-7) approaching, traders will be more eager to sell off their steel plate materials and, as a result, Chinese domestic steel plate prices are expected to continue to decline in the coming week.