In the past week, the Chinese domestic section market has witnessed some declines. While the winter offseason is the main culprit of the low trade volume, approaching holidays in China have also negative impact in steel section demand in the country.
In the Shanghai market, the price of 50 mm x 50 mm x 5 m steel angles is now at $679/mt. The same product is sold at $627/mt in the Tangshan market and at $719/mt in the Guangzhou market. Meanwhile, prices of 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm steel channels stand at $679/mt in the Shanghai market, at $643/mt in Tangshan and at $727/mt in the Guangzhou market. In Shanghai, Tangshan and Guangzhou markets, 250 mm x 118 mm x 10 m I-beam prices stand respectively at $687/mt, $668/mt and $711/mt. The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT. Steel section prices in China can also be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
As for billet, prices in the Chinese market have continued to follow a stable trend as compared to last week. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 3,700/mt ($585/mt), the price of 165 x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at 3,730/mt ($559/mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is around RMB 3,820/mt ($604/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.
Recently, many mills in China have been conducting maintenance works, and this causes market supplies to decrease, providing some balance with the low demand. In addition, the inventory levels in the market in general have continued to decline. So, despite the poor demand, section steel prices in China are not expected to drop further, but follow a stable trend instead in the short term.