Posted on 12 Mar 2025
Baoshan Iron & Steel Co (Baosteel), the listed arm of the world's top steelmaker China Baowu Steel Group, is holding the list prices of its carbon steel hot-rolled coil (HRC) steady for domestic sales in April, according to the company's latest pricing announcement issued on March 10. Prior to this, Baosteel had raised the prices for March sales by Yuan 100/tonne ($13.8/t), as reported.
Baosteel's price revision for April sales
Product | Price adjustment (Yuan/tonne) |
Hot-rolled coils | - |
Carbon steel plates | - |
Pickled and oiled coils | - |
Cold-rolled coils | - |
Hot-dipped galvanized steel | - |
Electro-galvanized steel | - |
Color-coated coils | - |
Non-grain oriented electrical steel | - |
Grain oriented electrical steel | - |
Source: Baosteel
Moderate growth in orders appears to be the major reason tempering Baosteel's inclination to raise prices further, a Shanghai-based market analyst suggested, explaining that the steel giant had already hiked its list HRC price in March, while steel buyers are focussed on meeting their immediate production needs rather than building up HRC inventories.
At the same time, overseas demand for Chinese steel products including HRC is expected to weaken in the near future, dampening Baosteel's inclination for lifting its prices. More penalties raising the cost of Chinese products including steel for importers abroad are taking effect, such as the additional 20% tariff the US is levying on Chinese imports and Vietnam's provisional anti-dumping duties on China-origin HRC, as reported.
However, China's overall HRC supply is anticipated to decline in March and April as many mills are hesitating to increase output under the intensifying pressure their coils are facing in export markets, the analyst pointed out. Some have proactively scheduled more maintenance stoppages, he observed.
These production constraints should support China's domestic HRC prices, giving Baosteel confidence to maintain its list HRC prices, instead of cutting them, he concluded.
Baosteel does not disclose the actual list prices of its products in its monthly pricing policies and usually gives just the margin of price adjustment, Mysteel Global notes.
However, Shagang Group (Shagang), China's largest privately-owned producer headquartered in Zhangjiagang in East China's Jiangsu province, does at the start of each month.
Earlier on March 1, Shagang announced that it was keeping its HRC prices unchanged for March sales, with its Q235 HRC listed at Yuan 3,650/t and SPHC HRC at Yuan 3,660/t.
Source:Mysteel Global
