During the week ending May 9, Chinese domestic semi-finished steel prices have declined, while transaction activity in the market has slackened and is now at low levels. Average prices of steel billet and slab in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
In the early part of the past week, the rebound of Chinese domestic finished steel prices provided support for steel billet prices. However, coming to the latter part of the week, the Chinese ferrous metal futures market declined significantly, exerting a negative impact on the trend of domestic semi-finished steel prices. Meanwhile, demand has slackened and transaction activity is at low levels. Against the backdrop of reduced steel billet inventories, it is thought that semi-finished steel prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely edge up slightly in the coming week.
Product Name | Spec. | Category | City | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change (RMB/mt) |
150 mm x 150 mm | Q195-Q235 | Tangshan | 2,910 | 422 | ↓70 | |
Jinzhong | 2,830 | 410 | ↓170 | |||
Fuzhou | 3,030 | 439 | ↓120 | |||
Jiangyin | 3,130 | 454 | ↓70 | |||
Average price | 2,975 | 431 | ↓108 | |||
150 mm x 150 mm | 20 MnSi | Tangshan | 3,010 | 436 | ↓70 | |
Jinzhong | 2,950 | 428 | ↓170 | |||
Fuzhou | 3,130 | 454 | ↓120 | |||
Jiangyin | 3,280 | 475 | ↓40 | |||
Average price | 3,093 | 448 | ↓100 | |||
250*1800*6000 | Q235 | Tangshan, Hebei | 2,950 | 428 | 0 |
All prices are ex-warehouse and on actual weight basis and include 17 percent VAT.
$1 = RMB 6.90