During the week ending May 17, average prices of pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) in the Chinese domestic market have moved sideways, while 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 $660-680/mt, moving down by $15/mt compared to that recorded on May 10.
|
Specification (mm) |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
|
0.476 x 1,000 |
CGCC |
5,567 |
0 |
783 |
0 |
|
0.426 x 1,000 |
CGCC |
5,710 |
17 |
804 |
2 |
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 moved sideways amid the increases in HRC futures prices in the latter part of the given period. Market players lack confidence as regards the prospects for the future PPGI market trend as the weather has become hotter, which has slowed down the construction activities on projects. Inventory of PPGI has seen declines, which has bolstered prices to a certain degree.
In order to stimulate the sluggish real estate industry in China, on May 17 the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) announced reductions in mortgage rates for both provident fund loans and commercial loans, while also reducing the downpayments needed for mortgages, exerting a positive impact on market sentiments. It is expected that PPGI prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely edge up in the coming week.
As of May 17, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,849/mt ($536/mt), increasing by RMB 43/mt ($6.1/mt) or 1.1 percent since May 10, while up 0.97 percent compared to the previous trading day, May 16.
$1 = RMB 7.1045