Uptrend in Chinese steel plate market slows down

During the week ending March 12, steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market have continued to increase, but the rising trend has slowed down. Average prices of steel plate products in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section. 
 
In the past week, the rising trend in the Chinese steel plate market saw a gradual slowdown due to the big increase witnessed in the previous two weeks. In addition, overall activity levels in the market are lower than in the previous week. Traders have begun to adopt a wait-and-see stance and are not in a rush to ship steel plates at lower prices.
 
Most steel mills have raised their steel plate prices. Hansteel and Hebei Jingye Group are already producing at normal output rates, while Hebei Wenfeng Industrial Group and Hebei Puyang Iron and Steel have continued to limit production. As regards inventory, according to the related data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics, on March 9 total plate inventory in major Chinese cities amounted to 1.549 million mt, down by 30,600 mt week on week.
 
It is expected that the Chinese steel plate market will remain on a slight uptrend in the coming week.