Jiangsu Province-based Shagang Group, China’s largest private steelmaker, has issued its list prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) for March this year. Accordingly, the company has raised its offer prices for Q235 5.5 mm x 1,500 mm HRC by RMB 50/mt ($7.7/mt) to RMB 5,200/mt ($805/mt) ex-works.
In February, the producer had kept its offer prices for HRC stable at RMB 5,150/mt ex-works.
HRC futures prices at Shanghai Futures Exchange moved up by RMB 545/mt ($84.4/mt) from February 1 to February 26 amid the prevailing bullish sentiments among market players. Meanwhile, except for the stable trend during the Chinese New Year holiday, iron ore prices moved on an overall uptrend in February, bolstering HRC prices from the cost side. Demand in China for HRC will likely improve in March amid the traditional peak season for sales, which will result in a rising trend in HRC prices.
