In the first half of July, the international steel market was first suppressed and then raised. In the middle of the month, the global steel benchmark price index of 123.7 points rose by 0.3% on a week-on-week basis. Among them: flat steel index was 116.4 points, up 0.1% on a week-on-week basis (up from down); long product index was 131.8 points, up 0.6% on a week-on-week basis (up from down); Asia index was 125.7% points, down 0.1% on a week-on-week basis ( The decline converges). The China index in Asia was 128.5 points, which was flat on a week-on-week basis (from flat to flat); the Americas index was 143.3 points, down 0.2% on a week-on-week basis (from ups and downs); the European index was 107.3 points, up 1.4% on a week-on-week basis. Based on the market operating situation combined with the fundamentals forecast, the international steel market in the second half of July may continue to fluctuate.
Posco is the “most competitive steel company in the world”. On June 26, World Steel Dynamics (WSD) released the annual list of “World's Most Competitive Steel Companies” at the 33rd Global Steel Survival Strategy Conference. South Korea's Pohang ranked first with 8.37 points (out of 10 points). This is the ninth time that Posco has won this award since 2010.
In terms of flat products: market prices have been mixed. In South Korea, just entering July, South Korean cold-rolled flat product manufacturers have announced price increases. Among them, the eastern steel has already set a new price tag, and other companies such as Dongguo Steel and Shiya Group also cooperated to raise prices. According to industry insiders, Eastern Steel has issued a notice to increase the price of all cold rolled flat products by 40,000 won/ton since July 16. Dongkuk Steel and Shiya Group announced that their cold rolled flat products prices will increase by 50,000 won / ton. Manufacturers of cold-rolled flat products said that because they will continue to bear the burden of increased production costs in the middle of the year, manufacturers have to raise prices to overcome current difficulties. Some people expect that although the shipping price of Korean cold-rolled flat products has been confirmed to increase in July, it is still difficult to make up for the losses of some producers, so additional price increases may be difficult to avoid. However, there are also people who believe that the continued weakening of steel demand in the Korean domestic market, coupled with consumer resistance to price increases, may hinder a substantial increase in prices, but there must be a certain increase. Therefore, Korean manufacturers of cold-rolled flat products may eventually have to increase processing fees or expand exports as an alternative to price increases. In Japan, the Tokyo market has a hot roll of $732/ton, a cold roll of $805/ton, and a plate of $750/ton, all down $3-6/ton. At the same time, the export price of hot coils was US$630/tonne (FOB), cold coils were US$730/tonne (FOB), galvanized sheets were US$810/ton, and plate was US$680/tonne (FOB), which were generally flat. In the UAE and Saudi Arabia, flat steel import prices have fallen slightly since entering July. As of July 10, the import price of hot rolled CFR in the UAE region was US$610-630/ton, down by US$5-20/ton. Among them: China's hot-rolled CFR onshore is quoted at US$630/ton, India's hot-rolled CFR is quoted at US$610-615/ton; China's cold-rolled CFR is quoted at US$680/ton, and rolled hard-rolled CFR is quoted at US$655-660/ Ton. Some market participants said that although prices have risen, the magnitude is not much in the range of only $5-10/ton. However, the CFR import reference price for hot-dip galvanized coils has increased significantly, from the previous 740-840 US dollars / ton to the current 800-850 US dollars / ton. It is reported that India sold 4,000 tons of 1mm hot-dip galvanized coils to the UAE at a CFR price of $845-850/ton. According to industry insiders, the current large price difference between China and India hot-dip galvanized coils is mainly due to the fact that India's hot-dip galvanized coils have been officially certified by the United Arab Emirates. In Saudi Arabia, the imported hot rolled Indian CFR reference price remains unchanged at $615-620/ton. The price of Indian hot-rolled exports to Saudi Arabia to CFR is around US$615-620/ton, and the price is slightly loose. At the beginning of July, the average export price of China's SS400 3-12mm hot-rolled coils was US$600/tonne (FOB), and the average export price of SPCC 1.0mm cold-rolled coils was US$640/ton, which was roughly the same as the end of last month. The DX51D+Z 1.0mm galvanized coil exports were US$690/ton/ton (FOB), down US$10/ton/ton from the end of last month. In the same period, the price of hot-rolled Southeast Asia imports was US$610/tonne (CFR), down by US$5/ton from the previous period. In Vietnam, on July 10, the commencement ceremony of the Vietnam Shunning and Pellet Project, which was undertaken by China's 19th Metallurgical Group, was held. The project is located in the vast orange economy zone of Vietnam's general province, and is a comprehensive large-scale steel base invested by Vietnam Hefa Group. China 19th Metallurgical Group has undertaken two systems projects of 2*360 square meters of sintering and 1.8 million tons of pellets. Among them, the equipment engineering capacity is 28,000 tons, the steel structure is 4,500 tons, the pipeline is 4,500 tons, the cable is 1,100 kilometers, and the construction period is 335 days.
Jane: Based on the fundamentals of the Asian market, the Asian steel market in July is expected to continue to rise and fall.
In terms of flat products: market prices continue to rise. In some parts of the European Union, the ex-factory price of hot-rolled coils was US$655/ton, up by US$5/ton from the end of last month. Cold rolled coils were $745/tonne, up $15/ton. The import price of hot rolled coil in the EU is US$645/tonne (CFR), which is US$15/ton higher than before. Cold rolled coil imports prices of $ 730 / ton (CFR), up $ 12 / ton. Galvanized sheet rolls were 759 US dollars / ton, medium plate 678 US dollars / ton, imports in early July were generally the same as before. In Italy, as import prices have picked up, Italian mills have raised their HRC ex-factory prices to €520-530/tonne ($605-617/ton/tonne). Some steel traders said that although the market is deserted, it is difficult to find hot rolled coil offers below 540-545 euros/ton cif. In Germany, the price of hot-dip galvanizing rose by €20/tonne ($23/ton/ton), and some analysts said that we expect to increase by another 30-40 euros/ton by the end of the year. More insiders said that the upward momentum came from the EU's efforts in establishing safeguards. This is "very positive", coupled with strong demand and lack of imports from Asia, steel mills began to try to raise prices. In fact, the price increase has started in June to July, but it has not been universally realized. The long-term contract price is still around 680 euros, but now the steel mills think that the price is about to rise because the hot-dip galvanizing delivery time is extended and the production has been arranged. Until the beginning of December.
In terms of trade relations: (1) On July 5, the European Commission’s subcommittee on trade defense measures met to discuss temporary defense measures to be taken on European steel imports. It is reported that the temporary defense measures will be implemented from July 17-18, which will include a 25% tariff on all imported steel products based on quotas; (2) Russia Magnitogorsk Steel Plant, Xinli Companies such as Petsky Steel and Northern Steel applied for the Eurasia Economic Commission to initiate anti-dumping investigations on galvanized sheets imported from China and Ukraine. The survey targets hot-dip galvanized cold and hot-rolled sheets and coils with aluminum-zinc coating. The Eurasian Economic Commission also said that in 2017, China and Ukraine's galvanized sheet was exported to the Eurasian Economic Union countries at dumping prices, of which Chinese producers dumped 16.4% and Ukrainian producers 25.6%.
In terms of long products: market prices have risen steadily. In the United States, the price of rebar imported in major regions in mid-July was $753/tonne (CIF includes handling fee), up $3/ton from the previous period. Net wire 827 US dollars / ton (CIF), up 149 US dollars / ton. Small section steel 728 yuan / ton (CIF), roughly the same as before.
