Chinese domestic steel section market moves down slightly

Chinese domestic steel section prices have declined slightly on week-on-week basis.

In the Shanghai market, the price of 50 mm x 50 mm x 5 m steel angles is now at $663/mt (RMB 4,240/mt). The same product is sold at $619/mt (RMB 3,960/mt) in the Tangshan market and at $709/mt (RMB 4,540/mt) in the Guangzhou market. Meanwhile, prices of 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm steel channels stand at $659/mt (RMB 4,220/mt) in the Shanghai market, at $627/mt (RMB 4,010/mt) in Tangshan and at $736/mt (RMB 4,710/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 $672/mt (RMB 4,300/mt), $650/mt (RMB 4,160/mt) and $722/mt (RMB 4,620/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 16 percent VAT. Steel section prices in the Chinese domestic market can be viewed in the table below.

As for billet, Chinese domestic market price showed a slightly downward trend during past week. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 3,610/mt ($564/mt), the price of 165 x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at RMB 3,630/mt ($567/mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is at around RMB 3,730/mt ($583/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 16 percent VAT.

Overall trading activity in the local Chinese steel section market has been at low levels in the past week. During most of the week, the market moved on a soft trend due to the weakness of both billet prices and rebar futures prices. However, rebar futures prices rebounded at the end of the week, causing steel section prices to move up slightly. Steel section inventories are currently at low levels, while it is thought that demand will remain weak in June and July which are part of the traditional off-season for steel demand. As for the coming week, it is thought that domestic steel section prices will decline slightly, with low supply helping to slow down the declining trend of the market.

$1 = RMB 6.40