During the past week, China's steel section market first indicated an upward trend and then started to move down. Prices are now lower 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 $631/mt. The same product is sold at $576/mt in the Tangshan market and at $621/mt in the Guangzhou market. Meanwhile, prices of 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm steel channels stand at $629/mt in the Shanghai market, at $573/mt in Tangshan and at $629/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 $637/mt, $605/mt and $634/mt. The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.
As for billet, prices in the Chinese market have fluctuated on a downward trend during the past week. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 3,260/mt ($519/mt), the price of 165 x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at RMB 3,290/mt ($524mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is around RMB 3,380/mt ($538/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.
During the first week back from the Spring Festival holiday, China's steel section market first indicated an upward trend and then started to move down, with prices now lower than they were one week ago, while the overall trading performance has not been great. Weakness on the demand side, the fact that traders are mainly focused on trying to improve their sales volumes, and the soft trend of billet prices have all contributed to the weakening of steel section prices in China in the latter half of the past week. In addition, some traders have been slow to return to the market after the holiday. As for the likely trend in the coming period, with billet prices still at relatively high levels, it is thought that limited room exists for domestic steel section prices to fall. Furthermore, with the weather becoming warmer, demand from the construction sector will eventually improve. At the same time, the recent softening of section prices has had some positive impact on the trading volume. In the short term, it appears that China's steel section market has enough support to maintain a sideways trend or to rise slightly.