China's domestic steel section market has followed a soft trend in the past week, with prices down slightly in most regions of the country. In the Shanghai market, the price of 50 mm x 50 mm x 5 m steel angles is now at $571/mt. The same product is sold at $546/mt in the Tangshan market and at $583/mt in the Guangzhou market. Meanwhile, prices of 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm steel channels stand at $574/mt in the Shanghai market, at $554/mt in Tangshan and at $605/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 $592/mt, $567/mt and $608/mt. The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.
As for billet, prices in the Chinese market have indicated slight downticks in the past week. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 mm x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 3,080/mt ($499/mt), the price of 165 mm x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at RMB 3,110/mt ($504/mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is at around RMB 3,200/mt ($519/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.
In the past week, trading volumes in China's domestic steel section market have been much lower than expected, while the trend in the market has also been influenced by the overall soft trend in China's steel markets in the current month. In this context, it is difficult for local traders of steel sections to be confident about the future trend of the market, while purchase activity has declined significantly. With inventory levels increasing, sellers in the market are obliged to reduce their prices in order to attract demand. Market analysts consider that the low trade volume is now the main reason for the weak price trend, while currently there are no positive signals to indicate that the demand side will improve Accordingly, it is expected that the downward trend in the local Chinese steel section market will continue during the coming seven days.