Chinese Domestic Billet Prices Drop Sharply

Today, the ex-factory price of general carbon billet in Tangshan, Changli and Qian'an was settled at RMB 3,410/MT, down RMB 20 since morning. However on weekly basis it dropped RMB 80-100 compared with last Friday.

This was primarily due to heavy rains in southern China. Today, the steel market is slowing down, with floppy transactions on billet and finished product prices are in disarray. Mill direct sales are moderate.

The billet inventory at warehouses of Xiangyu Zhengfeng and Haiyi Hongrun is 273,100 MT, an increase of 39,600 MT. The overall shipment of finished products is weak, and it is expected that the billet will remain stable in the afternoon.