During the week ending March 15, average prices of pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) in the Chinese domestic market have continued their downtrend, though transaction activity in the domestic market has been at low-to-medium levels. Average PPGI prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
Offer prices of ex-China PPGI have been heard between $650-690/mt, moving down by $30/mt on low end compared to that recorded on March 8.
|
Specification (mm) |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
|
0.476 x 1,000 |
CGCC |
5,587 |
-46 |
787 |
-7 |
|
0.426 x 1,000 |
CGCC |
5,647 |
-46 |
796 |
-7 |
13 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
During the given week, PPGI prices in the Chinese domestic market have seen further decreases amid declining raw material prices and slack demand from downstream users. Currently, the supply of PPGI is at relatively high levels, exerting a negative impact on prices. Moreover, though increases in inventory of PPGI have slowed down, inventory has risen further, weakening the support for market sentiments. It is expected that PPGI prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely move down in the coming week.
As of March 15, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,692/mt ($520/mt), decreasing by RMB 149/mt ($21/mt) or 3.9 percent since March 8, while down 1.2 percent compared to the previous trading day, March 14.
$1 = RMB 7.0975