Demand is expected to shrink, steel prices may fluctuate weakly

Demand is expected to shrink, steel prices may fluctuate weakly As of December 24, the average price of 108*4.5mm seamless pipes in 27 major cities across the country was 5988 yuan/ton, an increase of 21 yuan/ton from last week. This week, the price of seamless pipes in most areas across the country rose by 20-100 yuan/ton. In terms of raw materials, billet prices across the country continued to run strongly this week, and the overall trend was to increase sharply. This week, the price of billet in Shandong has increased by 100 yuan/ton, and the price of billet in Jiangsu has risen by 60 yuan/ton. In terms of the market: the black futures market continued to fluctuate strongly this week, and the cost side increased significantly. At the same time, with the positive impact of some policies, the steel spot price continued to fluctuate and rise this week. Except for a few northern cities, the price of seamless pipes was mainly volatile. The northeastern region continued to make up for a small decline due to insufficient demand. In the first half of this week, the overall transaction improved slightly but then returned to a stable level. This week, the transaction of seamless pipes remained at a stable level. The market mentality was general. Some traders across the country have successively performed a small amount of replenishment operations. In terms of tube plants: Affected by cost promotion, most tube plants nationwide raised their listing prices this week, and most tube plants in Shandong increased their prices by 50-150 yuan/ton. Although a few mainstream tube plants lowered their prices on Friday, the entire seamless tube plants left the factory. The main price is stable and rising. This week, the raw material billet prices of seamless pipes were generally strong, and the enthusiasm of pipe mills to pick billets increased. Driven by costs, the prices of most seamless pipe mills in Shandong increased by 50-150 yuan/ton. The market sentiment was restored to a certain extent. Factory orders have increased, and factory inventories continue to show a downward trend. Due to the end of environmental protection production restrictions in some areas of Shandong this week, some tube plants resumed production. The operating rate of tube plants rose slightly from last week, and the overall seamless tube supply continued to remain low. In terms of mentality: the fundamentals of steel products improved slightly this week, and steel futures fluctuated upward. Prices have been slightly weaker recently, transactions in seamless pipes have remained stable, and traders’ sentiments have been general. In terms of inventory: this week’s social inventory continued to decline slightly compared with last week. This week, the national seamless pipe social inventory was 671,400 tons, and the inventory fell by 8 million tons. Post time: Dec-27-2021