As of January 9th, there has been a slight adjustment in the prices of spot steel markets both domestically and internationally. Prices in the domestic market have remained stable with some looseness, while prices in the US market have remained stable and prices in the European market have slightly increased.
The market price of construction steel has partially loosened, with a market price of 3910 yuan/ton for 6.5mm diameter steel and 4010 yuan/ton for 25mm diameter secondary threaded steel in the Chengdu market; The market price of small-sized 12mm threaded steel is around 4350 yuan/ton; The price of Shougang 6.5-10mm high wire in Tianjin market is 3600 yuan/ton, and the price of 16-25mm secondary threaded steel is 3600 yuan/ton, a decrease of 20 yuan/ton. The price of hot-rolled coils remains stable, with Tangshan Iron and Steel's mainstream price for 3.0mm hot coils in the Guangzhou market at 4150 yuan/ton, and the mainstream price for 5.5-9.5mm hot coils from leading steel mills at 3900 yuan/ton; The mainstream transaction price of 2.75mm hot coil in Taiyuan market is 4150 yuan/ton, 3.0mm hot coil is 3950 yuan/ton, and the market transaction price of 4.0mm and above specifications is between 3800 and 3850 yuan/ton, with stable prices. The price of medium and thick plates is running steadily. The market price of 8mm medium plates in the Beijing market is 4210 yuan/ton, and the mainstream price of 16mm to 25mm medium plates in the leading steel mills is 3700 to 3730 yuan/ton; The mainstream price of 14 to 20mm medium plates produced by Handan Iron and Steel in the Wuhan market is around 3850 yuan/ton, while the prices of medium plates produced by Tiangang and Feida of the same specifications are around 3800 yuan/ton, and the prices remain stable. Cold rolling prices have remained weak and stable. The price of 1.0mm Ansteel cold plate in the Shanghai market is 4620 yuan/ton, and the mainstream price of 1.2-2.0mm Ansteel cold plate is 4530 yuan/ton.
The overall market transaction is difficult, supported by costs, and traders lack confidence in continuing to lower prices. As the Spring Festival approaches, traders have announced that they will start their holiday next Monday. If they ship before the Spring Festival, they will only have one week left. Although there is still pressure to collect payments, some downstream traders and terminals will also gradually stock up, and prices will face resistance whether they fall or rise. The cold rolling market is fluctuating upwards, and overall performance is good despite resource constraints. However, affected by weak downstream demand, traders find it difficult to be optimistic about the future market, and high-level resource transactions are clearly weak. At the same time, traders' enthusiasm for ordering high priced resources from steel mills in the later stage has declined, and it is generally difficult to grasp the market trend after the Spring Festival. They are cautious in their operations while observing.
In the international market, the price of flat steel from Midwest steel mills in the United States remained stable on January 8th compared to December 30th, with a factory price of 5 per ton for hot-rolled coils; The ex factory price of cold-rolled coil is 706 US dollars per ton; The ex factory price for hot-rolled galvanizing is 5 per ton; The ex factory price of medium and thick plates is 1060 US dollars per ton; The price of long steel continues to remain stable, with a factory price of 2 per ton for threaded steel; The factory price for small materials is 6 per ton. EU steel mills have slightly adjusted their ex factory prices, with hot-rolled coils priced at 0 per ton, an increase of per ton; The ex factory price of cold-rolled coil is 660 US dollars per ton; The ex factory price of hot-rolled galvanizing is 0/ton, a slight decrease of /ton; The ex factory price of medium and thick plates is 50 per ton; The ex factory price of rebar is 610 US dollars/ton, an increase of 50 US dollars/ton; The factory price of small materials is 710 US dollars/ton, with a slight increase of 10 US dollars/ton.
The US long material market remains stable, but the production and sales situation in the wire market has not shown much improvement. Due to the situation of demand fatigue, US wire factories have vigorously reduced production. Most steel mills either shut down or maintain extremely low capacity utilization rates. However, for some large orders, steel mills are still willing to negotiate or reach deals at lower prices. Overall, prices are showing a stable trend at present. European traders had to shut down in order to reduce expenses. Although the demand is poor, the rise in scrap steel prices has supported the market price of rebar. EU traders have stated that users may make moderate purchases in January based on inventory, but only to meet demand.