The rebound of China’s steel export prices cannot conceal the sluggish demand, and the market’s wait-and-see sentiment intensifies

After a significant drop in prices last week, the export HR355 steel prices of cold-rolled and hot-dip galvanized products in China have rebounded this week. But currently, buyer demand is still very weak, and most buyers are still watching and waiting for the price trend to stabilize. In the past week, the price of cold coil in China has risen to about 515-520 US dollars per ton FOB, and the price of hot-dip galvanizing has risen to about 565-570 US dollars per ton FOB, with a weekly increase of 5 US dollars per ton.

Last week, due to extremely low HR355 steel demand, futures prices fell significantly. However, due to the recent significant price drop and the approaching delivery time of exported goods, the demand from domestic traders has increased, which is also one of the reasons for the rise in futures prices at the beginning of this week. A trader told Mysteel that although the demand for cold coils and hot-dip galvanizing has increased, it is expected to be difficult to sustain in the future. Traders stated that the current prices are not truly driven by overseas demand, but rather by a significant drop in prices previously, forcing traders to buy. The decline in local prices in China also confirms market analysis to some extent. Last week, China's cold coil prices fell by about $1/ton, and hot-dip galvanizing prices fell by about $6/ton.

The recent significant price fluctuations have made overseas buyers very cautious. There is market news that after an exporter quoted for cold coils last week, they stated in the afternoon of the same day that the price could be further reduced by $15/ton. Therefore, buyers are not in a hurry to make a purchase now and would rather wait for the market to stabilize before HR355 steel making a counteroffer.