Steel market price on May 22, 2023

Building steel: On May 22nd, the average price of 20mm Grade III seismic resistant threaded steel in 31 major cities nationwide was 3791 yuan/ton, a decrease of 30 yuan/ton compared to the previous trading day. In the short term, due to the recent resumption of production by steel mills and the upcoming rainy season, which will have a certain impact on downstream demand, there are certain concerns about future demand in the market, and the market's risk aversion sentiment is spreading; On the other hand, recent raw material prices have continued to be weak, with poor cost support, weak market rebound drive, and fragile confidence.

Hot rolled plate and coil: On May 22nd, the average price of 4.75mm hot rolled plate and coil in 24 major cities nationwide was 3838 yuan/ton, a decrease of 43 yuan/ton compared to the previous trading day. The overall performance of China's macro data in April was weak, and expectations for interest rate cuts fell short. However, the market still has expectations for cross cycle adjustments. From a practical perspective, there has been no substantial improvement in the supply and demand situation. With no bright spots in demand for the time being, there may be more rainfall in the south, which may have a certain impact on construction sites. After the recovery of low profits, it has hindered the process of production reduction, and some steel mills have begun to resume production, which is also the main suppressing factor for the insufficient driving force of price rebound.

Cold rolled coil: On May 22nd, the average price of 1.0mm cold coil in 24 major cities across the country was 4473 yuan/ton, a decrease of 20 yuan/ton compared to the previous trading day. On the 22nd, black commodity futures fluctuated and fell, with spot prices in various regions continuing to decline compared to last week. From the market understanding, traders are still very cautious in their operations, mainly focusing on fast in and fast out. In terms of transactions, merchants reported that the market transactions on the 22nd were mainly based on demand, with almost no speculative demand.

Medium thick plate: On May 22nd, the average price of 20mm regular plate in 24 major cities across the country was 4186 yuan/ton, a decrease of 23 yuan/ton compared to the previous trading day. Affected by the weak and stable adjustment of market prices over the weekend and the poor trend of opening futures, the spot price showed a downward trend on the 22nd. In terms of transactions, under the downward trend of the market, purchasing sentiment is cautious, and the overall market demand recovery is insufficient. The demand for various infrastructure and manufacturing industries is insufficient, resulting in poor market transaction performance. From the perspective of resource performance, the profits of steel companies have recently recovered, and the price advantage of medium and thick plate varieties is obvious compared to other varieties. Production tends to be more inclined towards high profit medium plate varieties, resulting in high production. The orders for variety boards are slightly better than those for circulating materials, so they tend to prefer variety boards in production variety matching.