Steel price on Apr. 3, 2023

Building steel: On April 3rd, the average price of 20mm Grade III seismic resistant threaded steel in 31 major cities across the country was 4256 yuan/ton, a decrease of 36 yuan/ton compared to the previous trading day. In the short term, the contradiction between supply and demand in the market has accumulated recently, and the decrease in raw material prices has led to a shift in the cost center and weakened steel support.

Hot rolled plate and coil: On April 3rd, the average price of 4.75mm hot rolled plate and coil in 24 major cities nationwide was 4378 yuan/ton, a decrease of 45 yuan/ton compared to the previous trading day. On the 3rd, the price decline of black futures continued to expand, and the main shift of positions is still accelerating. On a macro level, the official manufacturing PMI in China has dropped to 51.9, and in March, the manufacturing PMI in Caixin China fell to 50, indicating a significant slowdown in the expansion speed of China's manufacturing industry. From the perspective of demand, the overall downstream orders in China are still in a general situation, but with the slow resumption of production by overseas steel mills, the demand for plate exports has relatively improved.

Cold rolled sheet coil: On April 3rd, the average price of 1.0mm cold coil in 24 major cities across the country was 4846 yuan/ton, a decrease of 11 yuan/ton compared to the previous trading day. The price of black series futures has fallen, causing strong pessimism among merchants and poor market transactions; In terms of demand, downstream automotive steel companies have reported poor orders, which is opposite to market expectations for a positive direction.

Medium thick plate: On April 3rd, the average price of 20mm regular plate in 24 major cities across the country was 4579 yuan/ton, a decrease of 15 yuan/ton compared to the previous trading day. Affected by the significant decline in the futures market, spot prices on the mid day market began to decline slightly in the afternoon, with transactions noticeably weakening. Fundamentally speaking, there are not many resources in the main distribution market, and social inventory continues to decline. In addition, there were fewer steel mills arriving in April, resulting in less supply pressure on the market. However, due to the short-term impact of futures pullbacks, spot prices on the medium board are expected to stabilize after a slight decline.