Markets in Asia

摘要

With some relief steelmakers and steel traders have seen prices in the Chinese steel market recover at least as fast as could have been hoped, and have witnessed a general rise in coil prices import markets around the region. Chinese mills added the equivalent of US dollar 12-37/tonne to domestic prices in February. Coil prices on international markets have risen by dollar 80-100/tonne and more since early February. At the lowest point of the market Chinese mills were selling HR coil dollar 320/tonne fob. Now it is impossible to find supplies under dollar 440/tonne. At this level they are still well below current prices in the EU and scarcely bear comparison with US prices. There is, however, every sign that there will be further rises before long. During February HR and CR coil prices saw bigger increases than coated coil. Baoshan Steel (Baosteel) surprised the market with larger increases for the second quarter than expected, announcing increases of Rmb350-400/tonne (US dollar 43-49/tonne) for HR coil and as much as Rmb600/tonne (US dollar 74/tonne) for CR coil. Its offers on the still somewhat oversupplied "commodity" HDG market were raised by only Rmb200/tonne (US dollar 25/tonne). Baosteel usually changes prices only on a quarterly basis, so market-watchers were left with the question of whether the company reckoned it was catching up with changes already enjoyed by its competitors or was projecting forward to levels that the market will reach during the second quarter.