During the week ending May 23, Chinese domestic semi-finished steel prices have indicated a rising trend, while transaction activity in the market has been better than the previous week and now at decent levels. Average prices of steel billet and slab in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
During the given week, Chinese domestic finished steel prices have moved on a rising trend, providing strong support for domestic semi-finished steel market. Meanwhile, domestic ferrous metal futures prices have indicated significant increases, exerting positive impact on semi-finished steel prices in the spot market. Furthermore, the ongoing decline in the Chinese domestic finished steel inventory provided support for the semi-finished steel prices. It is expected that semi-finished steel prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely move up slightly in the coming week.
| Product Name | Spec. | Category | City | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change (RMB/mt) |
| Billet | 150 mm x 150 mm | Q195-Q235 | Tangshan | 3,140 | 456 | ↑150 |
| Jinzhong | 3,080 | 447 | ↑100 | |||
| Fuzhou | 3,200 | 464 | ↑90 | |||
| Jiangyin | 3,300 | 479 | ↑120 | |||
| Average price | 3,180 | 462 | ↑115 | |||
| Billet | 150 mm x 150 mm | 20 MnSi | Tangshan | 3,240 | 470 | ↑150 |
| Jinzhong | 3,200 | 464 | ↑100 | |||
| Fuzhou | 3,300 | 479 | ↑90 | |||
| Jiangyin | 3,450 | 501 | ↑120 | |||
| Average price | 3,297 | 479 | ↑115 | |||
| Slab | 250*1800*6000 | Q235 | Tangshan, Hebei | 3,000 | 435 | ↑50 |
All prices are ex-warehouse and on actual weight basis and include 17 percent VAT.
$1 = RMB 6.89