Jiangsu Province-based Shagang Group, China’s largest private steelmaker, has issued its list prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) for July this year. Accordingly, the company has raised its offer prices for Q235 5.5 mm x 1,500 mm HRC by RMB 250/mt ($35.4/mt) to RMB 4,000/mt ($566/mt) ex-works.
In June, the producer had increased its offer prices for HRC by RMB 350/mt ($49.1/mt) to RMB 3,750/mt ($525.8/mt) ex-works.
Amid rainy weather conditions and floods in China, demand has slackened in the local Chinese market. HRC futures prices at Shanghai Futures Exchange have moved down since June 22, exerting a negative impact on market sentiment. Meanwhile, iron ore prices have also edged down, weakening support for HRC prices. However, following the previous halting of activities in China at the beginning of this year due to Covid-19, market players think that production and construction in China are unlikely to continue their weak trend in the second half of the year, which will bolster HRC prices.
$1 = RMB 7.071