Baoshan Iron & Steel (Baoshan Steel), the listed-arm of China Baowu Steel Group, opted to roll over its domestic sales list prices for carbon steel hot-rolled coil (HRC) for March, according to its pricing policy released on February 10. For the past two months, the steel giant had lifted its prices of hot coil by a total Yuan 230/tonne ($33/t).
Usually, Baoshan Steel doesn’t release its final sales prices, only the margin of adjustment up or down. The prices apply to HRC made at its four flat steel plants comprising the Baoshan works in East China’s Shanghai, the Meishan mill in East China’s Jiangsu, its Qingshan plant in central China’s Hubei province, and the Dongshan works in South China’s Guangdong province.
Baoshan Steel’s move reversed the price trend seen currently in the domestic HRC market, where the national average price for Q235 4.75mm HRC has witnessed significant declines, dropping Yuan 184/t on month to reach Yuan 3,674/t including the 13% VAT as of February 7.
A Shanghai-based steel trader said the steelmaker’s move was within his expectations. “Actual demand in March must be stronger than February, as the demand this month is being hurt by the unexpected outbreak of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (NCP),” he said.
On the other hand, all operations at Baoshan Steel’s four works remain as per normal currently, including the plant in Hubei, the worst virus-hit region in China. However, in a company release on February 6, the steelmaker said that presently, demand for HRC was being impacted as many re-rollers would come back to work some 10-15 days later than usual.
Given that hot coil production at most mills is stable, the accumulation of HRC stocks since the Chinese New Year holiday (January 24-February 2) is still exerting some pressure on HRC prices, Mysteel Global noted.
As of February 5, HRC stocks at Mysteel’s 37 regularly surveyed flat steelmakers hit a historical high since May 2015 to touch some 1.6 million tonnes, up by 646,300 tonnes from the inventory total as of January 22, Mysteel’s survey showed.
For March, Baoshan Steel’s list prices for other steel products including cold-rolled coils, oiled and pickled coils, heavy plate, hot-dipped galvanized steel, electrolytic galvanized steel, and electrical steel also remain unchanged from those for February, Mysteel Global learns from the pricing policy.
~This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
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