Chinese domestic steel section prices mostly stable, some slight downticks

Chinese domestic steel section prices have been mostly stable in the past week, with slight downticks also seen.

As for billet, prices of the semi-finished steel product in the Chinese domestic market have showed a stable trend during the past week. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 mm x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 3,090/mt ($443/mt), the price of 165 mm x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at RMB 3,110/mt ($446/mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is at around RMB 3,190/mt ($457/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 13 percent VAT.

Overall trading activity in the local Chinese section steel market has still been at very low levels in the past seven days due to the influence of the coronavirus issue. Downstream buyers and traders are still mostly on holiday but some of them are back at work as of the start of the current week. Market inventories are at high levels, which places strong pressure on prices. Against the backdrop of the recovery of activity on both the upstream and downstream sides, it is believed that domestic steel section prices may follow a soft trend during the coming week.

 The prices are all ex-mill, including 13 percent VAT.

$1= RMB 6.980