The Chinese domestic steel section market has continued to move on a downward trend in the past week.
In the Shanghai market, the price of 50 mm x 50 mm x 5 m steel angles is now at $649/mt. The same product is sold at $614/mt in the Tangshan market and at $665/mt in the Guangzhou market. Meanwhile, prices of 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm steel channels stand at $646/mt in the Shanghai market, at $623/mt in Tangshan and at $677/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 $649/mt, $636/mt and $665/mt. The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT. Average steel section prices in the Chinese domestic market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
As for billet, prices in the Chinese market have followed a stable trend during the past week. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 3,590/mt ($568/mt), the price of 165 x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at RMB 3,620/mt ($573/mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is around RMB 3,710/mt ($587/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.
Traders in the Chinese steel section market are adopting a cautious approach and are purchasing only in line with their needs as they try to keep inventories at low levels. Small price reductions by steel mills do not appear to have much influence on downstream demand. Traders also believe that price reductions can only have limited success in attracting demand at the current time. For the coming week, it is thought that the downtrend in the market will continue, but that decreases will be smaller than in the past week.