Steel market prices on July 18, 2022

Construction steel: On July 18, the average price of 20mm grade 3 seismic rebar in 31 major cities across the country was 4,008 yuan/ton, up 44 yuan/ton from the previous trading day. Driven by the sharp rise in steel billets over the weekend and the rise in futures, domestic construction steel prices rose in the morning. From the perspective of transaction, the market mentality has improved, the trading atmosphere is strong, speculative demand has picked up, and the transaction has improved significantly throughout the day. In the short term, the recent bad news has gradually been released. The rebound of steel billets and futures snails has boosted market confidence to a certain extent, and spot prices have rebounded from oversold.

Hot-rolled coil: On July 18, the average price of 4.75mm hot-rolled coil in 24 major cities across the country was 3,864 yuan/ton, up 76 yuan/ton from the previous trading day. In terms of demand, due to the spread of the domestic epidemic and the off-season of high temperature and rain, the overall downstream manufacturing industry is not active in picking up goods, and the demand side has not improved significantly. In terms of supply, due to the current continuous losses forcing steel mills to increase blast furnace maintenance and production reduction, but the decline in raw materials has made the overall production reduction of finished products less than expected, the current contradiction between supply and demand is prominent. The market is sluggish, the pressure to go to the warehouse is too high, and there are too many emotions to take the initiative to go to the warehouse. Downstream demand remains weak, and the wait-and-see sentiment is relatively strong.

Cold-rolled coil: On July 18, the average price of 1.0mm cold coil in 24 major cities across the country was 4,398 yuan/ton, an increase of 17 yuan/ton from the previous trading day. Today, the futures hot coil surface stopped falling and rebounded, and some traders were in high sentiment to raise prices. At present, the inventory pressure in the market is relatively high. In addition, the epidemic has spread in many places, and some areas are in the stage of closure and control, which affects logistics. The overall market demand is relatively weak, and the contradiction between supply and demand still exists. Although the price has risen slightly, most traders are still not optimistic about the market outlook.

Medium and heavy plate: On July 18, the average price of 20mm common plate in 24 major cities across the country was 4,239 yuan/ton, an increase of 35 yuan/ton from the previous trading day. Today's East China rose sharply, mainly due to the obvious oversold last week. After the futures rebounded, the spot was quickly repaired, and the rest of the region rose slightly, and the overall transaction improved. At present, the output of steel mills is still high. In terms of demand, the enthusiasm for downstream purchases has been mobilized since the weekend. However, since there are not many terminal orders, it needs to continue to observe whether it can continue to be maintained.