China Steel Association: Review Of Steel Market Prices In The First Half And Main Problems In The Second Half Year

1. Characteristics of price changes in domestic steel market in the first half year

In the first half of 2008, China's national economy continued to maintain steady and rapid development. As the growth of steel production slowed down, the domestic steel market showed strong demand and basically balanced supply and demand.

The price of domestic steel has been rising continuously due to the sharp rise in raw material prices and the high price in the international market.

1, domestic steel prices continue to rise, the overall price level is higher than the same period last year.

In the first half of 2008, domestic steel prices showed a continuous upward trend.

In January, China encountered a rare freezing disaster weather. In many parts of the country, electric power was damaged, pportation was tight, steel production growth slowed down, steel resource flow was sluggish, and domestic steel prices rose slightly. In mid February, the price of steel prices rose sharply in the middle of February.

After March, the domestic market entered the peak season for steel consumption. The demand for steel gradually increased, the market inventories decreased, and domestic steel prices continued to rise. In June, due to the heavy rain in the South and traffic restrictions and restrictions on Construction in the northern Olympic Games, the price of long timber has dropped, and domestic steel prices have been slightly adjusted.

At the end of 6, the domestic steel composite price index was 161.47 points, up 36.35 points at the end of 12 last year (125.12 points), rising 29.05%.

It rose by 50.76 points over the same period last year, an increase of 45.85%.

Compared with the same period last year, the overall price level of steel in the first half of this year is higher than that of the same period last year.

In the first half of this year, the average price of steel composite index was 144.77 points, an increase of 34.19 points over the same period last year (110.58 points) and an increase of 30.92%.

2, the price of long timber fluctuates, the price of plate rises, and the overall growth of long timber is higher than that of sheet metal.

In the first half of the year, domestic prices of long timber fluctuated.

In January and June, the price fell slightly, the other months increased steadily, and the increase in May was larger.

At the end of 6, the index of long timber price was 163.95.

It rose 32.06 points from 12 (131.89 points) last year, an increase of 24.31%.

Plate prices continue to rise.

The index rose from 12 at the end of last year to 125.48 at the end of 6, rising 161.31 points, rising 35.83 points and 28.55%.

At the end of 6 this year, compared with the end of 12 last year, the increase of plate 28.55% was 4.24 percentage points higher than that of long timber (24.31%), because the price of long timber fell somewhat in late June, while the price of plate continued to rise.

The overall price of long timber is higher than that of sheet metal.

In the first half of this year, the average price index of long timber was 149.26 points, higher than the same period last year's average index of 50.69 points, or 51.42%, and the average price index of sheet metal 145.39 points, up 28.77 points, or 24.67%, over the same period of the same year.

The overall growth of long timber is 26.75 percentage points higher than that of the board. The main reason is the low level growth of long timber production, and the contradiction between supply and demand is the driving force for strengthening the price of long timber.

In addition, the low average price of long timber during the same period last year was also a big reason for the increase.

3. Characteristics of price changes of major steel varieties

Judging from the price trend of the eight major steel varieties, the price increases in the first half of the year were hot-rolled seamless tubes, galvanized sheets and cold-rolled sheets. The smaller ones were screw steel, and the price of other varieties increased steadily.

(1) general line price increase is larger than that of thread steel.

In the first half of this year, general line and rebar price trend is convergent.

At the end of 12 last year, prices were 4528 yuan and 4619 yuan per ton, respectively. In January, prices fell slightly, and increased steadily after February, with a larger increase in May and an adjustment in June.

At the end of 6, at the end of 12 last year, the price of general thread and rebar increased by 1249 yuan / ton and 991 yuan / ton respectively, with an increase of 27.58% and 21.45%.

(2) the price of cold plate products increased considerably.

The cold rolled sheet and galvanized sheet increased greatly in plate products, and the price of hot plate increased steadily.

The market demand for medium and heavy plates was strong, prices began to rise slightly in January, and the increase in February was larger than that in June.

At the end of 6, the price was 7105 yuan / ton, up 28.41% from 12 at the end of last year.

The price of hot-rolled sheet and hot-rolled coil is in the middle, and the price at the end of 6 is 6384 yuan and 6030 yuan per ton respectively, up 1342 yuan / 1120 yuan per ton from last year's end of last month, and 26.62% and 22.81% respectively.

The price of cold rolled sheet began to rise at the beginning of the year, and the price at the end of 6 was 7479 yuan / ton, up 29.78% yuan from the end of 12 last year. The price rose by 1716 yuan / ton.

The price of galvanized sheet at the end of 1 is 5987 yuan / ton, which is lower than that of the same period last year (6047 yuan / ton). After February, the price of the galvanized sheet began to rise, and in May, the chain rose considerably. At the end of 6, the price was 7735 yuan / ton, up 30.73% from the end of last year.

The hot rolled seamless pipe increased significantly in March and June, and the price at the end of 6 was 7630 yuan / ton, up 2291 yuan / ton, or 42.91% higher than that at the end of last year.

The reason for the increase is due to the impact of disasters such as ice and snow and earthquakes. The domestic seamless pipe production has declined as a whole, and the supply of resources has been tightened.

Compared with the same period last year, the average price level of the eight main steel varieties is higher than that of the same period last year.

The increase of long timber products was larger, and the average price of general line and screw steel increased by 52.84% and 50.90% respectively. The increase of plate products was less than that of long materials, of which the plate increased considerably, the average price increased by 37.62% compared with that of the previous year, and the galvanized sheet Rose relatively small, which rose by only 12.95% over the same period last year.

4, the regional market long Materials North or higher, plate South rose larger

In the first half of this year, steel prices rose sharply in domestic and regional markets, driven by demand and cost.

In the first half of the year, the prices of long timber in the northwest, North China and Northeast China were higher, showing a monthly upward trend in the first 5 months. The trend of a slight fall in prices in June was mainly due to the high temperature storm in the whole country in June and the traffic restrictions and construction restrictions in some areas.

The plate market showed a similar trend with the long timber market, and prices continued to rise in the first half of this year, and the increase in June was somewhat lower.

South market plate and hot rolled plate increased considerably.

Two. Factors affecting domestic steel market prices

Domestic steel prices continued to rise in the first half of 2008.

1, domestic steel demand steady growth.

Since this year, despite the natural disasters such as ice, snow, earthquakes and floods, the overall economic situation has remained stable and fast growing.

In the first half of the year, GDP grew by 10.4% over the same period last year, although it dropped 1.8 percentage points over the same period last year, but it still grew at a relatively high level. Fixed asset investment in cities grew by 26.8% over the same period last year, up 0.1 percentage points over the same period last year. Real estate investment grew by 33.5%, an increase of 5 percentage points over the same period last year, and the total volume of imports and exports increased by 25.7% over the same period last year, an increase of 2.4 percentage points over the same period last year.

In the first half of the year, the added value of industrial products above designated size increased by 16.3% over the same period last year, of which the general equipment manufacturing industry increased by 21.8%, the pportation equipment manufacturing industry increased by 21.4%, the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing industry increased by 21.3%, the communications equipment, computers and other electronic equipment manufacturing industry increased by 17.1%, and the production and supply of electricity and heat increased by 11.9%.

Machinery, automobiles, household appliances, shipbuilding and other major steel industries have maintained rapid growth.

With the steady and rapid development of the national economy, the rapid development of the steel industry has stimulated the domestic steel demand to maintain steady growth.