Average scrap prices in the Chinese domestic market have continued their downtrend in the past week, though the declines have been relatively small.
Average domestic HMS scrap prices in China are at RMB 2,609/mt ex-warehouse, decreasing by RMB 14/mt on average compared to the previous week, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
Average scrap prices in China’s main markets are presented in the following table:
|
Product name |
Specification |
Origin |
Price |
Price |
Weekly change |
Weekly change |
|
HMS |
> 6 mm |
Tianjin |
2,700 |
376.2 |
-30 |
-5.2 |
|
Liupanshui, Guizhou |
2,530 |
352.5 |
0 |
-1.0 |
||
|
Nanchang, Jiangxi |
2,565 |
357.4 |
+10 |
+0.4 |
||
|
Handan, Hebei |
2,700 |
376.2 |
-20 |
-3.8 |
||
|
Anyang, Henan |
2,655 |
369.9 |
0 |
-1.0 |
||
|
Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu |
2,595 |
361.6 |
-25 |
-4.5 |
||
|
Jinan, Shandong |
2,515 |
350.4 |
-30 |
-5.2 |
||
|
Average |
2,609 |
363.5 |
-14 |
-2.9 |
||
|
Note: Prices include 3 percent VAT as of March 1 2022. |
||||||
During the given week, bearish sentiments have prevailed among market players as the economic data issued by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was not as good as expected. Finished steel prices have edged down, resulting in declining profitability on the steelmakers’ side. At the same time, there was information stating that China will issue control measures to curb crude steel output, which has exerted a negative impact on buyers’ willingness to conclude purchases for scrap. However, the PBOC announced on August 15 a cut in MLF rates by 15 basis points to 2.5 percent, while it cut the seven-day reverse repo operation rate by 10 basis points to 1.8 percent, which will bolster market sentiments. It is thought that scrap prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
The latest ex-Japan HS scrap tradable price level has been at $375/mt, versus $375-380/mt CFR last week.
$1 = RMB 7.1986