During the week ending September 1, domestic semi-finished steel prices in China have generally continued their decreasing trend, though remaining stable in Fujian Province, while transaction activity in the overall market has been at low levels. Average prices of steel billet and slab in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
| Product name | Specification (mm) | Category | City | Price | Price (US$/mt) | Weekly change |
| (RMB/mt) | (RMB/mt) | |||||
| Billet | 150 x 150 | Q195-235 | Tangshan,Hebei | 1,750 | 275 | ↓30 |
| Jiangyin,Jiangsu | 1,840 | 289 | ↓40 | |||
| Fuzhou,Fujian | 1,830 | 288 | 0 | |||
| Jinzhong,Shanx | 1,720 | 270 | ↓20 | |||
| Average price | 1,785 | 281 | ↓23 | |||
| Billet | 150 x 150 | 20MnSi | Tangshan,Hebei | 1,880 | 296 | ↓40 |
| Jinzhong,Shanxi | 1,860 | 292 | ↓40 | |||
| Fuzhou,Fujian | 1,930 | 303 | 0 | |||
| Jiangyin,Jiangsu | 1,950 | 307 | ↓20 | |||
| Average price | 1,905 | 300 | ↓25 | |||
| Slab | 250 x 1,800 x 6,000 | Q235 | Tangshan,Hebei | 1,780 | 280 | ↓20 |
The prices are on actual weight basis, 17 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
During the given week, declines in finished steel prices in China have exerted a negative impact on domestic semi-finished steel prices. However, iron ore prices have moved on a mostly stable trend with just slight fluctuations, providing a certain degree of support for semi-finished steel prices, limiting their downward movement. After the end of the holiday on September 3-6, semi-finished steel supply will likely increase, negatively affecting the price trend. It is thought that semi-finished steel prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely continue their decreasing trend in the coming week, though some support may come from the demand side after the holiday.
$1 = RMB 6.36