Chinese Steel plate market remains bearish

BEIJING (Scrap Monster): Chinese domestic steel plate market keeps dull due to customers’ soft demand and the current prices decrease further. Insiders deem that the market is unlikely to recover in a short period.

South China
A sales official of Shunhui Trading, a steel plate distributor in Foshan, Guangdong Province reports to Asian Metal that the price for Q235B 16-20mm from Shaoguan Steel is RMB3,830/t (VAT included), down by RMB20/t compared with that of the last trading day.

With the sales volume of around 100tpd against the target one of 200tpd, the source reveals that the downstream demand is the worst than that of any time in the recent three years because of the gloomy domestic and overseas economies. He pointed out that the accumulative markdown was RMB150/t last week, the biggest weekly price decrease since July, but it still failed to stimulate the demand as expected.

East China
A sales manager of Ganjiang Company, a steel plate distributor in Shanghai, offers RMB3,600/t (VAT included) for Q235B 16-20mm from Yingkou Steel, RMB30/t lower than that of the last trading day.

With the sales volume of 100-200tpd, less than half of the target level, the source attributes the price decline to the oversupply. Predicting the price is to drop continuously, he informs that though part of steel mills intend to carry out overhauling plans in August, the oversupply will not be changed in the short term.

Southwest China
A sales manager of Sanquan Material Company, a steel plate distributor in Chengdu, Sichuan Province quotes RMB3,850/t (VAT included) for Q235B 16-20mm from JISCO, RMB30/t lower than that of the last trading day.

The source informs that the sales volume is 70-80tpd, much lower than the target one of 300tpd. Being disappointed with the slow demand, he is extremely depressed by the current stock of more than 3,000t. “Many traders in Chengdu have no stocks at present, and they dare not to replenish them in order to avoid potential risks,” he adds, anticipating the market will keep dim in the coming August.

North China
A salesman of Runde Trading, a steel plate distributor in Tianjin, informs that the quotation for Q235B 16-20mm from Tianjin Steel is RMB3,500/t (VAT included), falling by RMB100/t over that of the last trading day.

With the sales volume of 200-300tpd, much lower than the target level of 500-600tpd, the source reports that the weakening demand is mainly responsible for the sharp price decrease. He reveals that the comprehensive steel price index fell by 3.26% last week, the biggest weekly decrease in the recent eight months. In face of customers’ hand-to-mouth buying, he estimates that the price will decline to an even lower level this week.