During the week ending August 12, steel plate prices in the Chinese domestic market have trended up slightly amid sluggish market activity. Average steel plate prices in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
As low-cost semi-finished steel stocks have been digested fully, Chinese steel plate mills have started to raise their offers for new production materials, while traders have also started to follow suit and push up their market sales prices. At present, iron ore and semi-finished steel prices have continued to trend up, thereby providing support for the upward movement of steel plate spot prices. Although the traditional slack season has not yet come to an end, some regions are already faced with short supply of some specifications of steel plate products amid low inventory. Traders are taking advantage of this situation to raise their prices. It is expected that Chinese domestic steel plate prices will continue to move up in the coming week, though probably not at a fast pace.