Posted on 24 Aug 2022
Prices of Chinese steel for export continued to decline last week. Waning demand from overseas buyers and the loss of competitiveness of Chinese hot coils meant that steel export sales stayed weak, Mysteel Global learned.
As of August 22, the export price of China-origin SS400 4.75mm hot-rolled coil (HRC) was assessed at $595/tonne FOB from North China's Tianjin port, down by $10/t on week, while that of SPCC 1.0 cold-rolled coil also slipped by $17/t on week to reach $660/t FOB from Tianjin port, according to Mysteel's survey.
With October – traditionally a robust period for steel consumption in China – being just two months away, Chinese mills last week were unwilling to lower their prices to boost sales. As a result, China-produced HRC was considered less competitive compared with hot coils produced in other countries, a Shanghai-based analyst said.
Exports prices of Russia-origin hot coils were more attractive compared with those from Turkey and Southeast Asia. However, Chinese buyers showed little interest in buying, as HRC for China's domestic sales were still much cheaper, the analyst said.
The hot coils prices in Europe headed south last week, as dull demand from end-users and high stocks weighed on the prices. However, high production costs prevented the prices to decline further, she added. Many market participants anticipate that sales in Q4 will pick up with the growing demand from European automakers latter on.
Meanwhile, Chinese domestic steel prices have been softening, as the heatwave in many parts of the country has further dampened the demand from end-users. China's national price of Q235 4.75mm HRC under Mysteel's assessment, for example, had eased to Yuan 4,023/t ($586.1/t) including the 13% VAT as of August 22, easing by Yuan 100/t from one week earlier.
Source:Mysteel Global
