Price stability and low activity in Chinese PPGI market

During the week ending March 16, the Chinese pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) market has moved on a stable trend, while market activity has been on the low side. Average prices of PPGI in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
 
In the given week, major Chinese steel producer Baosteel Group announced unchanged flat steel offers for April. As foreign demand for Baosteel's products has recently recovered, its PPGI supplies for the domestic market have declined. Meanwhile, most traders have reported a small improvement in their order books. With no large arrivals, PPGI inventories in the Chinese market have not significantly changed. These days traders are mostly purchasing PPGI just to meet their urgent requirements, while a few traders who are under financial issues are offering PPGI at low price levels.
 
On the whole, domestic PPGI market prices are still lower than the cost of purchasing material from the steel mills. It is expected that PPGI prices in the Chinese domestic market will edge upwards as demand starts to recover.