China: Domestic Billet Prices Soften in Early Trading Sessions

Yesterday, the ex-factory price of general carbon billet in Tangshan ,Changli and Qian’an areas was settled at RMB 3,580/MT down RMB 20.

The billet inventory of Xiangyu Zhengfeng and Haiyi Hongrun are 309,100 tons, down 10,300 tons.

The overall shipment of finished products is weak, and it is expected that the billet will drop by about RMB20 in the afternoon.

Today the trading on billet is weak and mainstream prices of finished steels tend to slip. The specific transactions are as follows:

Construction steel: The mainstream construction steel on Tangshan market is stable, with the market price of rebar HRB400 of big specification at RMB 3,990/MT small specification at RMB 4,080/MT, and coiled rebar at RMB 4,120/MT.Transactions are plain.

HRC: Hot-rolled flat sheet lowered RMB20,to see 1,500mm wide flat sheet by first-tier steel mills at RMB 3,910/MT, second-tier mills at RMB 3,900/MT, while Q345 flat sheet at RMB 4,080/MT. Transactions are acceptable.