Chinese domestic steel section market moves up further

The Chinese domestic steel section market has continued its upward 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 $410/mt. The same product is sold at $364/mt in the Tangshan market and at $434/mt in the Guangzhou market. Meanwhile, prices of 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm steel channels stand at $396/mt in the Shanghai market, at $380/mt in Tangshan and at $460/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 $396/mt, $397/mt and $473/mt. The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT. Steel section prices in the Chinese domestic market can be viewed in the table below.

As for billet, prices in the Chinese domestic market have softened slightly in the past seven days, though they are still considered to be at relatively high levels. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 2,000/mt ($299/mt), the price of 165 x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at RMB 2,030/mt ($303/mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is at around RMB 2,120/mt ($316/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.

While the local Chinese steel section market was characterized by an upward trend in the past week, increase margins were smaller in eastern China compared to northern China, while central China has seen fairly large increases amid low supply volumes. Meanwhile, downstream demand has remained weak. Low supply and the relative firmness of billet prices are considered to be the main reasons for the upticks in steel section prices. As for the coming week, it is expected that domestic steel section prices may indicate further upticks, though with smaller increase margins.

$1 = RMB 6.70