During the week ending July 25, prices in the Chinese steel plate market have been rising slightly, though there is insufficient confidence in the market. As of July 25, average steel plate prices in the main cities of China are as follows:
Product name |
Specification |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
|
Common carbon medium plate |
20 mm |
Q235 |
4,857 |
+4 |
753 |
+1 |
Low alloy medium plate |
20 mm |
Q345 |
4,985 |
+20 |
773 |
+3 |
Shipbuilding plate |
16 mm |
CCS A/B |
5,167 |
+34 |
801 |
+5 |
Influenced by rising raw material costs, steel futures prices and upticks in the ex-mill prices of second tier steel producers, steel plate prices in China have mostly risen in the given period. Traders have also followed suit and raised their offers.
Nevertheless, two major domestic steel producers Baosteel Group and WISCO have both reduced their prices for August and this has damaged traders' confidence. In addition, as it is currently the slow season for the steel industry, end-users are just purchasing minimum volumes. Given the low demand, there is strong pressure from market inventories.
As of July 22, aggregate steel plate inventory in the main cities in China totaled 1.52 million mt, increasing by 11,930 mt from the previous week. In the given period, medium plate arrivals were normal, resulting in an increase of overall inventory in a context of sluggish demand.
On the whole, the prices of steel plate products in China are expected to trend sideways in the coming week.