Local Chinese semi-finished steel market follows an upward trend

During the week ending April 3, Chinese domestic semi-finished steel prices have increased, while transaction activity in the market has been at medium levels. Average prices of steel billet and slab in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.

During the given week, although finished steel producers’ inventories of semi-finished steel are still at relatively high levels, they have declined to some extent, reflecting the improved consumption of semi-finished steel. Meanwhile, rebar futures prices in China have moved up, exerting a positive impact on semi-finished steel prices. At the same time, most semi-finished steel producers are not operating at high capacity utilization rates, resulting in an absence of strong pressure on semi-finished steel prices from the supply side, while recovering finished steel prices will provide solid support for semi-finished steel prices. It is expected that semi-finished steel prices in the Chinese domestic market will continue to increase in the coming week.

All prices are ex-warehouse and on actual weight basis and include 17 percent VAT.
 
$1 = RMB 6.28