Chinese domestic steel section prices have continued their downward trend during the past week.
In the Shanghai market, the price of 50 mm x 50 mm x 5 m steel angles is now at $422/mt. The same product is sold at $378/mt in the Tangshan market and at $447/mt in the Guangzhou market. Meanwhile, prices of 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm steel channels stand at $417/mt in the Shanghai market, at $381/mt in Tangshan and at $469/mt in the Guangzhou market. In the Shanghai, Tangshan and Guangzhou markets, 250 mm x 118 mm x 10 m I-beam prices stand respectively at $431/mt, $398/mt and $502/mt. The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT. Steel section prices in the Chinese domestic market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
As for billet, prices in the Chinese domestic market are down slightly compared to one week ago. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 2,170/mt ($325/mt), the price of 165 x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at RMB 2,200/mt ($329/mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is at around RMB 2,290/mt ($342/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.
Chinese section market prices have once again indicated a fluctuating downward trend in the past week, but the decrease margins were smaller compared to last week. Since the previous increase, prices in the domestic section market are currently in an adjusting stage. Upstream billet quotations have decreased slightly in the same period but the margin is much smaller which has provided a certain support to section prices. The volume of supply in the local Chinese section market has increased, so traders have preferred to reduce their prices in order to stimulate sales. As for the coming week, experts have confidence that the downtrend of billet quotations will come to an end, while the trading activity in the market is believed to accelerate. As a result domestic section prices in China may remain stable in the coming week or indicate a slight increase.
| Product name | Spec. | Category | City | Steel plant/origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
| Angle | 1 mm x 1 mm x 5 mm | Q235 | Shanghai | Masteel | 2,700 | 404 | ↓20 |
| Beijing | Tangshan | 2,240 | 335 | ↓50 | |||
| Tangshan | Tangshan | 2,420 | 362 | ↓50 | |||
| Tianjin | Zhaobo | 2,300 | 344 | ↓70 | |||
| Guangzhou | Tongsteel | 2,860 | 428 | ↓30 | |||
| Average | - | 2,504 | 375 | ↓44 | |||
| Channel | 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm | Q235 | Shanghai | Masteel | 2,670 | 400 | 0 |
| Beijing | Xuangang | 2,310 | 346 | ↓60 | |||
| Tangshan | Tangshan | 2,440 | 365 | ↓100 | |||
| Tianjin | Jiangtian | 2,350 | 352 | ↓120 | |||
| Guangzhou | Liusteel | 3,000 | 449 | ↓30 | |||
| Average | - | 2,554 | 382 | ↓62 | |||
| I Beam | 21 mm x 118 mm x 10 mm | Q235 | Shanghai | Laiwu | 2,760 | 413 | ↓20 |
| Beijing | Laiwu | 2,480 | 371 | ↓130 | |||
| Tangshan | Tangshan | 2,550 | 382 | ↓140 | |||
| Tianjin | Haicheng | 2,460 | 368 | ↓140 | |||
| Guangzhou | Haicheng | 3,210 | 481 | ↓30 | |||
| Average | - | 2,692 | 403 | ↓92 |
$1 = RMB 6.68