1. In April, the price of medium and heavy plate in East China rose slightly
In April, the plate market in East China improved slightly, the inventory of merchants decreased slightly, and the shipping pressure eased. According to the monitoring data of Lange Iron and Steel Cloud Business Platform, as of April 29, the quotation of 16-25mm medium and heavy plate in key cities in East China: Jiangyin Pinggang and Tangshan Iron and Steel 3860 yuan (ton price, the same below), Shanghai Pinggang and Tangshan Iron and Steel 3850 yuan, Nanjing Pinggang 3870 yuan, Hangzhou Pinggang 3870 yuan, Ningbo Pinggang 3880 yuan, all up about 30-40 yuan from the previous month, and the price fluctuations in the south are weaker than those in the north. The price difference between the north and south markets has changed, although the price in the south market is higher than the price in the north, but the price in the north has gradually increased recently, and the price difference in the south has gradually narrowed, basically maintained at about 10-40 yuan, the price advantage of the northern resources in the south is small, and the resources in the south are still Pinggang, Liugang, Hengrun, Xicheng, Changda, Huawei and other steel mill resources.
Second, the output and inventory of medium and heavy plates in East China have increased
In terms of production, the total output of 12 steel enterprises in East China was 2.0628 million tons, an increase of 96,400 tons from the previous month.
On the warehouse, the total inventory of steel enterprises in East China was 510,200 tons, an increase of 10,000 tons from the previous month, and the overall demand of the market is still average.
3. In April, the overall trading of medium and heavy plates in East China was better than that of the previous month
The contradiction between supply and demand in the plate market in East China still exists, the current market carbon resources are sufficient, the market demand is acceptable, and the traders' shipments remain in the early stage, but the oversupply of low alloy resources is obvious, and most steel mills produce low alloys, the market supply is large, and the overall inventory of merchants is high. Prices in key areas such as Jiangyin, Wuxi, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing and other places basically remained stable, and there was little room for adjustment.
Fourth, the demand for boiler vessel plate is general
In March 2024, the output of domestic industrial boilers was 19,786.40 evaporation tons, a year-on-year increase of 0.92%, and the total amount of domestic industrial boilers from January to March 2024 was 58,739.5 evaporation tons, a year-on-year decrease of 22.07%. As shown in the figure, this year's industrial boiler output is significantly reduced compared with the previous two years, in recent years, with the increase of China's environmental protection efforts, industrial boilers in order to meet the requirements of energy conservation and environmental protection, most of the enterprises have upgraded the boiler, with the improvement of industrial boiler technology, the material requirements are higher, the market spot demand has weakened slightly, and the steel mill has increased.
5. In May, the plate in East China may continue to consolidate the pattern
On the whole, the recent futures market trend is weak, the support for the spot side is poor, the spot market demand performance is average, the industry is still pessimistic about the market supply and demand, and some industry players have an obvious wait-and-see mood. At present, the terminal demand continues to be weak, the market is weak, the market wait-and-see sentiment is strong, the industry is still worried about the market outlook, the supply of steel mills is sufficient in the near future, the buyer can be more selective, and the sales volume of some specifications is weakened. It is expected that in the short term, the market price of medium and heavy plate will mostly be consolidated. (Lange Steel)