During the week ending March 11, prices in the main steel scrap markets in China have indicated an overall downward trend, while transaction activity in the market has been at decent levels. Average scrap prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
Scrap prices in the Chinese domestic market have witnessed a downtrend in the past week as steel mills have exerted pressure to achieve lower scrap purchase prices. There has also been a lack of support for scrap prices as iron ore prices have continued to move down and as steel mills have cut their semi-finished steel product prices. Given the weakness in the steel markets, domestic scrap traders have agreed to reduce their prices in order to ensure good sales volumes. Market sources indicate that the Chinese steel industry is facing its period of greatest weakness since the financial crisis in 2008. It is thought that scrap prices in the Chinese domestic market will remain on a soft trend in the coming week.