A decrease was recorded in Chinese HRC prices

Prices, which were at 531 USD/ton on March 20, decreased to 519 USD/ton on March 28.

The highest price was 532 USD/ton on March 25, and the lowest price was 519 USD/ton on March 28. The price range varied from 1 USD/ton to 7 USD/ton.

Experts state that the fluctuations in the last week may be due to the change in raw material prices and the supply-demand balance in the market. The slowdown in China's construction sector is also considered one of the factors affecting HRC prices.

HRC production of the 41 steel mills examined increased by 21,100 tons to 3.4 million tons in the week ending March 28. This increase occurred as maintenance work ended and production capacity increased. Although some steel mills in eastern and northeastern China announced maintenance plans in April, the overall production trend is expected to increase.

At the same time, HRC inventories across the country continue to decline. Social inventory in 86 monitored warehouses decreased by 3.68% to 4.2 million tons as of March 28. Except for the southern China market, inventory decreases were observed in all regions in northern China, eastern China, northeast China and central China.

This increasing production and decreasing stock situation shows that steel prices may enter an upward trend in the coming period.