China Domestic Steel Market Update - 28 Mar'19

Yesterday, ex-factory price of general carbon billet in Tangshan,Changli and Qian'an areas was settled at RMB 3,430/MT. In the early morning, the Changli area led a gain of RMB 10/MT to report at RMB 3,440/MT. The billet transaction has been average and prices of finished products varied with ups and downs. The specific transactions are as follows:

Construction steel: Mainstream price of construction steel in Tangshan market dropped by RMB 10/MT with the current market price of rebar HRB400 of big specification at RMB 3,860/MT, small size at RMB 3,910/MT, while coiled rebar at RMB 3,950/MT. Transaction volume is average.

HRC: Now price of 3.0mm coils is at RMB 3,770/MT, mainstream of 5.5mm flattened at RMB 3,750/MT, while Q345 flattened at RMB 3,910/MT. Transaction has been weak.

Medium plate: Tangshan mid-plate market is slightly slide down by RMB 10/MT, and now price of general carbon plate of 14-22mm is stands at RMB 3,920/MT, low alloy plate at RMB 4,120/MT. The transaction volume is average.

Billet: Mill direct sales are average and ex-warehouse spot is at RMB 3,510/MT including tax with sound transaction performance. Billet inventory at warehouses Yuzheng Zhengfeng and Haiyi Hongrun totaled 794,400 tons, down 9,300 tons. Some individual categories saw acceptable transaction volume though the overall performance is general. It is expected that the price of the steel billets will increase in the afternoon.