Trading activity still very weak in Chinese domestic steel section market

The Chinese domestic steel section market has moved on a soft trend during the past week.
 
In the Shanghai market, the price of 50 mm x 50 mm x 5 m steel angles is now at $539/mt (RMB 3,720/mt). The same product is sold at $474/mt (RMB 3,270/mt) in the Tangshan market and at $535/mt (RMB 3,690/mt) in the Guangzhou market. Meanwhile, prices of 160 mm x 65 mm x 8.5 mm steel channels stand at $526/mt (RMB 3,630/mt) in the Shanghai market, at $475/mt (RMB 3,280/mt) in Tangshan and at $532/mt (RMB 3,670/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 $519/mt (RMB 3,580/mt), $480/mt (RMB 3,310/mt) and $596/mt (RMB 4,110/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT. Steel section prices in the Chinese domestic market can be viewed in the table below.
 
As for billet, prices in the Chinese domestic market have softened slightly during the past seven days. In Tangshan, the current price of Q235 150 x 150 mm square billet is at RMB 2,980/mt ($432/mt), the price of 165 x 225 mm rectangular billet stands at RMB 3,000/mt ($435/mt), while the price of 20MnSi billet is at around RMB 3,080/mt ($446/mt). The prices are all ex-mill, including 17 percent VAT.

Overall trading activity in the local Chinese steel section market has remained at very low levels during the past week, while slight declines in billet prices have also contributed to the soft market trend. Traders are expecting demand to improve, but downstream buyers are mostly maintaining a wait-and-see stance due to the decreases seen in raw material prices. It is thought that the Chinese domestic steel section market will move on a slight downtrend in the week ahead.

 $1 = RMB 6.90