Price trend:
Last week, hot rolled coil futures prices fluctuated downward, and domestic galvanized sheet and coil spot prices generally followed suit, creating a relatively subdued market. Furthermore, with demand still falling short of expectations as October draws to a close, merchant confidence had been further dampened. According to the SunSirs Commodity Market Analysis System, as of October 17, the average domestic galvanized sheet and coil price was 4,197.50 RMB/ton, a slight decrease of 0.53% compared to pre-holiday prices.
Fundamentals:
As the "two new" policies and the "national subsidies" policy come to an end, downstream purchasing slowed, putting short-term demand under pressure. Market participants reported average shipments of galvanized and color coated sheet and coil last week. According to the latest data from SunSirs Trade, the overall operating rate for galvanized steel sheets was 80.95% last week; capacity utilization was 63.61%, up 0.29% from the previous week; weekly production was 907,200 tons, up 4,100 tons from the previous week; steel mill inventory was 513,800 tons, down 1,500 tons from the previous week; social inventory was 1.3501 million tons, up 32,800 tons from the previous week; and total inventory was 1.8639 million tons, up 31,300 tons from the previous week.
As for steel mills, Shougang announced its November ordering policy last week, with a 100 RMB/ton increase in the order price for galvanized sheet and coil.
As for sentiment, due to cautious purchasing by end-users, merchants lacked confidence in future demand growth and were focusing on quick turnover to reduce inventory, leading to a heightened risk aversion.
Market outlook
As the overall shipments had been in a deviated state recently, merchants’expectations for the “Silver October”had been dashed again, and they were optimistic about the future market. SunSirs predicts that the price of galvanized sheet and coil may continue to fluctuate in the short term.
If you have any inquiries or purchasing needs, please feel free to contact SunSirs with support@sunsirs.com.
