Steel market price on January 3, 2023

Construction steel: On January 3, the average price of 20mm Grade III anti-seismic deformed steel bars in 31 major cities nationwide was 4189 yuan/ton, up 25 yuan/ton from the previous trading day. In the short term, on the one hand, due to the epidemic situation and the difficulty in purchasing scrap steel, short process steel plants generally stop production in advance and have holidays, so the short-term supply pressure is not great; On the other hand, although the recent macro positive expectation has been gradually digested and the macro drive has weakened, the positive atmosphere is still in place.

Hot rolled coils: On January 3, the average price of 4.75mm hot rolled coils in 24 major cities nationwide was 4148 yuan/ton, down 15 yuan/ton from the previous trading day. In terms of supply, after the New Year's holiday, iron ore has shown a strong performance recently, driving the growth of finished products, and the cost support before the year is still in place. From a macro perspective, the expectation is still warm, and relevant meetings pointed out that we should stick to the principle of "stability first" and "progress in stability". Under the pressure of high cost, most steel plants are in a loss state, with strong willingness to support prices. Winter maintenance has been started, and the steel market is characterized by weak supply and demand. The steel mill introduced the policy of winter storage, and the price was on the high side. The traders were cautious, and their willingness to store in winter was low.

Cold rolled coil: On January 3, the average price of 1.0mm cold coil in 24 major cities nationwide was 4594 yuan/ton, down 1 yuan/ton from the previous trading day. On the 3rd, the black futures market was weak, and the spot market prices were mostly stable, with small declines in individual markets. In terms of operation, shipments were mainly made. However, according to merchants' feedback, the overall market shipments were weak during the New Year's Day. In terms of transaction, the shipment volume of the national cold rolled coil market was 16890 tons, 1438 tons less than the previous trading day, a decrease of 7.85%. With the approaching of the Spring Festival holiday, the market demand is gradually decreasing. Traders are seizing the two weeks to ship, hoping to reduce the inventory before the Spring Festival to relieve the inventory pressure after the holiday.

Medium and heavy plate: On January 3, the average price of 20mm plain plate in 24 major cities nationwide was 4194 yuan/ton, up 4 yuan/ton from the previous trading day. In December, although facing the traditional slack season of demand, the supply side performance was still strong. Due to the high price of raw materials, the production cost of steel enterprises remained high, and profits were squeezed again and again. In terms of distribution of production varieties, steel enterprises pay more attention to manganese plates and variety plates with high profits. The production proportion of ordinary plates has decreased slightly, leading to a shortage of market resources and a large number of price increases in specifications. Although the recent macro policy continues to be favorable, the demand of the spot market is not followed up. At present, it is difficult to see a sharp correction in the price of raw materials in the short term, while the steel market has gradually entered the slack season of demand, and the high market price has not stimulated the enthusiasm of downstream hoarding, mainly purchasing on demand. With the approaching of the Spring Festival, some downstream traders will continue to close and have a holiday. The operation tends to ship goods and reduce the stock, and the funds will be mainly withdrawn at the end of the year.