During the week ending July 28, domestic semi-finished steel prices in China have generally moved on a stable trend, though billets prices in the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei have indicated declines, with slab prices also decreasing, while transaction activity in the overall market has remained at low levels. Average prices of steel billet and slab in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
During the given week, semi-finished steel prices have not continued their recovery following the previous week’s rebound, mainly due to sluggish demand in the hot summer offseason. Semi-finished steel prices in Hebei and Shanxi have declined, showing corrections after the previous rebound. Meanwhile, prices of finished steel and iron ore have not shown significant changes, providing some support for the stability of the semi-finished steel market. It is thought that semi-finished steel prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely fluctuate on a slight downtrend in the coming week.
| Product name | Specification (mm) | Category | City | Price | Price (US$/mt) | Weekly change |
| (RMB/mt) | (RMB/mt) | |||||
| Billet | 150 x 150 | Q195-235 | Jiangyin,Jiangsu | 1,820 | 293 | ↓30 |
| Jinzhong,Shanxi | 1,920 | 309 | 0 | |||
| Tangshan,Hebei | 1,830 | 295 | 0 | |||
| Fuzhou,Fujian | 1,760 | 283 | ↓40 | |||
| Average price | 1,833 | 295 | ↓17 | |||
| Billet | 150 x 150 | 20MnSi | Jiangyin,Jiangsu | 2,020 | 325 | 0 |
| Jinzhong,Shanxi | 1,900 | 306 | 0 | |||
| Tangshan,Hebei | 1,950 | 314 | 0 | |||
| Fuzhou,Fujian | 1,930 | 311 | 0 | |||
| Average price | 1,950 | 314 | 0 | |||
| Slab | 250 x 1,800 x 6,000 | Q235 | Tangshan,Hebei | 1,820 | 293 | ↓50 |
The prices are on actual weight basis, 17 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.21