Chinese domestic steel section prices have followed a soft trend during the past seven days.
As for billet, prices of the semi-finished steel product in the Chinese domestic market have moved down slightly during the past week. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 mm x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 2,970/mt ($412/mt), the price of 165 mm x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at RMB 2,990/mt ($415/mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is at around RMB 3,070/mt ($426/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 13 percent VAT.
Overall trading activity in the Chinese steel section market has been sluggish during the past week, while prices have moved down, also influenced by lower billet prices. Most traders chose to reduce their quoted prices in order to close more deals before the Labor Day holiday, while after the holiday steel section prices have continued to move down under the influence of weak demand. As for the week ahead, it is believed that steel section prices could rebound by a small margin due to the increases that have lately started to be seen in raw material prices.
| Product name | Specification | City | Price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change ($/mt) |
| Angle (Q235) | 50 mm x 50 mm x 5 mm | Shanghai | 3,450 |
-30 |
479 |
-4 |
| Beijing | 3,220 |
-70 |
447 |
-10 |
||
| Tangshan | 3,310 |
-50 |
459 |
-7 |
||
| Tianjin | 3,090 |
-50 |
429 |
-7 |
||
| Guangzhou | 3,460 |
-70 |
480 |
-10 |
||
| Average price | 3,306 |
-54 |
459 |
-8 |
||
| Channel (Q235) | 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm | Shanghai | 3,530 |
+20 |
490 |
+3 |
| Beijing | 3,200 |
-90 |
444 |
-13 |
||
| Tangshan | 3,280 |
-70 |
455 |
-10 |
||
| Tianjin | 3,060 |
-70 |
425 |
-10 |
||
| Guangzhou | 3,450 |
-70 |
479 |
-10 |
||
| Average price | 3,304 |
-56 |
458 |
-8 |
||
| I-beam (Q235) | 250 mm x 118 mm x 10 mm | Shanghai | 3,570 |
+10 |
495 |
+1 |
| Beijing | 3,330 |
-70 |
462 |
-10 |
||
| Tangshan | 3,450 |
-40 |
479 |
-6 |
||
| Tianjin | 3,170 |
-70 |
440 |
-10 |
||
| Guangzhou | 3,640 |
-70 |
505 |
-10 |
||
| Average price | 3,432 |
-48 |
476 |
-7 |
The prices are all ex-mill, including 13 percent VAT.
$1 = RMB 7.207