Chinese steel plate traders watching the market
2023-03-14 08:19:50 [Print]
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 14 Mar 23 - Domestic steel plate traders adopt wait-and-see attitudes towards the market prospect now seeing the bullish atmosphere in the market but the less satisfactory sales performance. Presently, the prevailing prices of steel plate Q235B 14-25mm stand at RMB4,470/t (USD649/t), RMB4,510/t (USD655/t) and RMB4,550/t (USD661/t) D/P respectively in warehouses Tangshan, Shanghai and Shenyang, with the former one stable and the latter two up by RMB40/t (USD6/t) and RMB10/t (USD1.5/t) from the last trading day. Upon the positive anticipation of market participants, insider believe prices of steel plate might go up in the coming several days.
"We maintain prices flat to watch the market," noted a trader in Tangshan, Hebei, offering RMB4,470/t (USD649/t) for steel plate Q235B 14-25mm right now. "The sudden bankrupt of Silicon Valley Bank during the weekend heightened downstream customers' cautious attitudes, and we just sold 200t of the material at RMB4,470/t (USD649/t) last Sunday, while could sell 700t a day early last week," explained the trader, who sold 300t of steel plate at RMB4,470/t (USD649/t) on Monday. According to him, nearby steel mills either kept steel plate EXW prices firm or lifted them by RMB20-30/t (USD3-4.5/t) on Monday. He believes prices of steel plate would go up slightly in the coming several days seeing the positive expectations of market participants.
Currently, the trader holds around 8,000t in stock, down from 10,000t in late February. Based on the regular sales volume of 7,000tpm, the trader might sell 7,000t in March, up from 6,000t in February. He roughly sold 11,000t in the first two months of 2023 and 63,000t or so in 2021.
"We followed peers to raise prices on Monday, but the market remained quiet," revealed a trader in Shanghai. Offering RMB4,510/t (USD655/t) without concession for steel plate Q235B 14-25mm, the trader last sold around 80t at RMB4,470/t (USD649/t) last Friday, and sold 100t of the material at RMB4,510/t (USD655/t) on Monday, while the sales volume reached 200t early last week. "Complaining the continuous price increases, end users reduced purchasing volumes since late last week. However, we moved up prices tentatively supported by the rising prices from steel mills," noted the trader, with wait-and-see attitudes towards the market prospect. Given the higher prices from steel mills and the improving demand, he predicts a further price hike of steel plate in the forthcoming several days.
Boosted by the upward price trend, the trader replenished inventories actively since early this month. Presently, he holds around 6,000t in stock, with around 3,000t to arrive in the coming week. With the typical monthly sales volume of 5,000t, the trader might sell 5,000t in March, up from 4,000t in February. The trader recorded the sales volume of around 9,000t in January and February of 2023 and 60,000t more or less in 2022.
Adopting wait-and-see attitude towards the market prospect, a trader in Shenyang maintained offers flat but refused to accept any concessions as he did last Friday, quoting RMB4,550/t (USD661/t) for steel plate Q235B 14-25mm at present. "Actually, the market performance keeps improving with the demand from downstream industries increasing day by day, but end users keep cautious about purchasing seeing the continuous price increase," explained the trader, who sold 300t of the material at RMB4,550/t (USD661/t) on Monday and last sold 400t at RMB4,540/t (USD660/t) last Friday. Given the recovering market, the trader believes prices of steel plate might edge up by RMB20/t (USD3/t) in the upcoming several days.
Based on the regular monthly sales volume of 2,500t, the trader would sell 2,500t in March, up from 2,300t in February. He totally sold approximately 27,000t in 2022 and 48,000t or so in January and February of 2023, with about 4,000t in inventory right now.
"We maintain prices flat to watch the market," noted a trader in Tangshan, Hebei, offering RMB4,470/t (USD649/t) for steel plate Q235B 14-25mm right now. "The sudden bankrupt of Silicon Valley Bank during the weekend heightened downstream customers' cautious attitudes, and we just sold 200t of the material at RMB4,470/t (USD649/t) last Sunday, while could sell 700t a day early last week," explained the trader, who sold 300t of steel plate at RMB4,470/t (USD649/t) on Monday. According to him, nearby steel mills either kept steel plate EXW prices firm or lifted them by RMB20-30/t (USD3-4.5/t) on Monday. He believes prices of steel plate would go up slightly in the coming several days seeing the positive expectations of market participants.
Currently, the trader holds around 8,000t in stock, down from 10,000t in late February. Based on the regular sales volume of 7,000tpm, the trader might sell 7,000t in March, up from 6,000t in February. He roughly sold 11,000t in the first two months of 2023 and 63,000t or so in 2021.
"We followed peers to raise prices on Monday, but the market remained quiet," revealed a trader in Shanghai. Offering RMB4,510/t (USD655/t) without concession for steel plate Q235B 14-25mm, the trader last sold around 80t at RMB4,470/t (USD649/t) last Friday, and sold 100t of the material at RMB4,510/t (USD655/t) on Monday, while the sales volume reached 200t early last week. "Complaining the continuous price increases, end users reduced purchasing volumes since late last week. However, we moved up prices tentatively supported by the rising prices from steel mills," noted the trader, with wait-and-see attitudes towards the market prospect. Given the higher prices from steel mills and the improving demand, he predicts a further price hike of steel plate in the forthcoming several days.
Boosted by the upward price trend, the trader replenished inventories actively since early this month. Presently, he holds around 6,000t in stock, with around 3,000t to arrive in the coming week. With the typical monthly sales volume of 5,000t, the trader might sell 5,000t in March, up from 4,000t in February. The trader recorded the sales volume of around 9,000t in January and February of 2023 and 60,000t more or less in 2022.
Adopting wait-and-see attitude towards the market prospect, a trader in Shenyang maintained offers flat but refused to accept any concessions as he did last Friday, quoting RMB4,550/t (USD661/t) for steel plate Q235B 14-25mm at present. "Actually, the market performance keeps improving with the demand from downstream industries increasing day by day, but end users keep cautious about purchasing seeing the continuous price increase," explained the trader, who sold 300t of the material at RMB4,550/t (USD661/t) on Monday and last sold 400t at RMB4,540/t (USD660/t) last Friday. Given the recovering market, the trader believes prices of steel plate might edge up by RMB20/t (USD3/t) in the upcoming several days.
Based on the regular monthly sales volume of 2,500t, the trader would sell 2,500t in March, up from 2,300t in February. He totally sold approximately 27,000t in 2022 and 48,000t or so in January and February of 2023, with about 4,000t in inventory right now.
