Asian steel market in January may continue to slide

Flat steel: Market steel prices fell slightly. In India, steel sheet producers have cut the price of hot rolled steel coils by 1,000 rupees ($14) per ton due to the recent sharp decline in demand in various industries. Officials at Indian steel mills say prices have to be lowered to boost demand. Nevertheless, some market participants still believe that Indian steel mills are not keen on exporting hot rolled steel coils. Because despite the sharp fall in domestic prices, local markets are still more profitable than foreign markets. In Japan, Tokyo Railway said recently that it decided to keep its listed prices unchanged in January next year in view of falling prices and sluggish demand in overseas markets. Among them, the medium and heavy steel plate is still 83,000 yen/ton, the ring ratio is flat. In late December, China's steel plate export prices continued to decline, including: the average export price of SS400 3-12mm hot rolled steel coil in China was 495 US dollars per ton (FOB), down 5 US dollars per ton from the previous. The average export price of SPCC 1.0mm cold rolled steel coil was 540 US dollars/ton, down 45 US dollars/ton. DX51D + Z 1.0mm galvanized coil exports $550 per ton (FOB), roughly the same as at the beginning of the month. As of December 20, the import price of ASEAN hot rolled steel coil was $485 per ton ((CFR), down 15 dollars per ton from the previous price.

Long steel: market steel prices are stable and falling. In South Korea, according to data released recently by the Iron and Steel Industry Association, the export and import volume of ordinary steel billets increased annually in November, but decreased year-on-year. Among them, the export volume was 3865 tons, the ring-to-ring growth was 126.6%, the year-on-year decline was 82.3%; the import volume was 337,000 tons, the ring-to-ring growth was 14.6%, the year-on-year decline was 29.6%. In November, the average import price of carbon steel billet in Korea was 543 US dollars per ton, up 18 US dollars per ton annually. Among them, the price of carbon billet imported from Japan by Korea is 549 US dollars per ton and that imported from Russia is 530 US dollars per ton. In Japan, Tokyo Iron, the largest EAF steelmaking company, said its listed prices would remain unchanged in January next year. Bar prices, including threads, remained at 69,000 yen ($608) / ton for January delivery and 89,000 yen ($608) / ton for H-beams. In late December, the average export price of HRB400 20mm threaded steel in China was US$510 per ton (FOB), down by US$5 per ton.
Based on the basic situation of Asian and Chinese markets, it is predicted that the Asian steel market will continue to adjust its trend in January.