Chinese steel plate prices decline
2024-03-12 08:31:17 [Print]
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 12 Mar 24 - After the markdown of RMB30-50/t (USD4-7/t) in the past week, domestic steel plate traders moved down prices further on Monday dragged by the slow market. Presently, the mainstream prices of steel plate Q235B 14-25mm hover at RMB3,900/t (USD542/t), RMB4,030/t (USD560/t) and RMB4,140/t (USD576/t) D/P respectively in warehouses Tangshan, Shenyang and Guangzhou, down by RMB30/t (USD4/t), RMB40/t (USD6/t) and RMB40/t (USD6/t) from the last trading day. Insiders foresee another price decrease of steel plate in the following several days seeing the dim market.
"We have to cut prices further on Monday discouraged by the bearish atmosphere in the market," sighed a trader in Tangshan, Hebei, quoting RMB3,900/t (USD542/t) D/P without concession for steel plate Q235B 14-25mm. According to him, end users hold back from purchasing at the moment seeing the accelerating decline since late last Friday, with the total markdown of around RMB70/t (USD10/t). Besides, the demand from downstream industries remains soft. "We just sold 100t of steel plate at RMB3,900/t (USD542/t) on Monday and 80t at RMB3,930/t (USD547/t) last Sunday, while sold 200-300t a day in early January," added the trader. Upon the pessimistic atmosphere in the market, the trader deems prices of steel plate would decrease further in the coming several days.
Holding around 2,000t in stock, the trader might sell about 2,000t of steel plate in March, against 1,000t in February. With the typical monthly sales volume of 3,000t, he roughly sold 25,000t of steel plate in 2023.
A trader in Shenyang, Liaoning quotes RMB4,040/t (USD562/t) D/P with the concession of RMB10/t (USD1.4/t) for steel plate Q235B 14-25mm at the moment, while refused to sell at prices below RMB4,070/t (USD566/t) when offered RMB4,080/t (USD567/t) last Sunday. Attributing the price decline to the bearish atmosphere in the market, the trader pointed out that the decreasing prices of raw materials such as iron ore, coal and coke weakened the purchasing activities of end users. Reporting insufficient orders for final products, they keep inactive in purchasing steel plate. "We just sold 50t of the material at RMB4,030/t (USD560/t) on Monday, while last sold 300t at RMB4,070/t (USD566/t) last Sunday," complained the trader. Given the low purchasing activities of downstream clients, he believes prices of steel plate would edge down further in the coming several days.
Based on the regular sales volume of 5,000t, the trader estimates that the sales volume would achieve 3,000t in March, against 2,000t in February. He recorded the sales volume of around 39,000t in 2023, with around 1,000t in inventory for the moment.
A trader in Guangzhou offers RMB4,140/t (USD576/t) D/P for steel plate Q235B 14-25mm at present, and last sold 1,000t of the material at RMB4,180/t (USD581/t) last Friday. According to him, prices of raw materials keep decreasing, together with the absence of stimulant policies, weakening the purchasing activities of end users to a large extent. Besides, reporting insufficient orders for final product, end users keep inactive in production. "The overall operation rates remain about 10% lower than those in the corresponding period of last year. After tough negotiations, we just sold 400t of the material at RMB4,140/t (USD576/t) on Monday," revealed the trader. Upon the slow market, the trader predicts further price decline of steel plate in the forthcoming several days.
Presently, the trader holds around 30,000t of stocks. Based on the regular sales volume of 30,000t, the trader would sell 20,000t of steel plate in March, similar to February. He totally sold approximately 370,000t of steel plate in 2023.
"We have to cut prices further on Monday discouraged by the bearish atmosphere in the market," sighed a trader in Tangshan, Hebei, quoting RMB3,900/t (USD542/t) D/P without concession for steel plate Q235B 14-25mm. According to him, end users hold back from purchasing at the moment seeing the accelerating decline since late last Friday, with the total markdown of around RMB70/t (USD10/t). Besides, the demand from downstream industries remains soft. "We just sold 100t of steel plate at RMB3,900/t (USD542/t) on Monday and 80t at RMB3,930/t (USD547/t) last Sunday, while sold 200-300t a day in early January," added the trader. Upon the pessimistic atmosphere in the market, the trader deems prices of steel plate would decrease further in the coming several days.
Holding around 2,000t in stock, the trader might sell about 2,000t of steel plate in March, against 1,000t in February. With the typical monthly sales volume of 3,000t, he roughly sold 25,000t of steel plate in 2023.
A trader in Shenyang, Liaoning quotes RMB4,040/t (USD562/t) D/P with the concession of RMB10/t (USD1.4/t) for steel plate Q235B 14-25mm at the moment, while refused to sell at prices below RMB4,070/t (USD566/t) when offered RMB4,080/t (USD567/t) last Sunday. Attributing the price decline to the bearish atmosphere in the market, the trader pointed out that the decreasing prices of raw materials such as iron ore, coal and coke weakened the purchasing activities of end users. Reporting insufficient orders for final products, they keep inactive in purchasing steel plate. "We just sold 50t of the material at RMB4,030/t (USD560/t) on Monday, while last sold 300t at RMB4,070/t (USD566/t) last Sunday," complained the trader. Given the low purchasing activities of downstream clients, he believes prices of steel plate would edge down further in the coming several days.
Based on the regular sales volume of 5,000t, the trader estimates that the sales volume would achieve 3,000t in March, against 2,000t in February. He recorded the sales volume of around 39,000t in 2023, with around 1,000t in inventory for the moment.
A trader in Guangzhou offers RMB4,140/t (USD576/t) D/P for steel plate Q235B 14-25mm at present, and last sold 1,000t of the material at RMB4,180/t (USD581/t) last Friday. According to him, prices of raw materials keep decreasing, together with the absence of stimulant policies, weakening the purchasing activities of end users to a large extent. Besides, reporting insufficient orders for final product, end users keep inactive in production. "The overall operation rates remain about 10% lower than those in the corresponding period of last year. After tough negotiations, we just sold 400t of the material at RMB4,140/t (USD576/t) on Monday," revealed the trader. Upon the slow market, the trader predicts further price decline of steel plate in the forthcoming several days.
Presently, the trader holds around 30,000t of stocks. Based on the regular sales volume of 30,000t, the trader would sell 20,000t of steel plate in March, similar to February. He totally sold approximately 370,000t of steel plate in 2023.
