Wuhan Steel cuts August prices by $16-48

Wuhan Steel has announced that it is cutting its steel prices for August shipment, following in the footsteps of Baosteel.

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It lowered prices of hot rolled coil by 150-300 yuan ($24-48) per tonne, cold rolled coil by 100-300 yuan per tonne and plate by 100-200 yuan per tonne.

Hot dipped galvanised coil, non-grain-oriented silicon steel and wire rod will be down 40 yuan per tonne, 150-200 yuan per tonne and 100 yuan per tonne respectively.

Prices of its other products will remain unchanged.

“Its price cuts, though large in range, are still not enough to entice customers with spot market prices falling continually,” a trader in Shanghai said.

Wuhan Steel’s latest price for commercial-grade 5.5mm-thick and 1,500mm-wide HRC is 4,247 yuan per tonne, including 17% VAT. This remains much higher than spot prices.

In Shanghai’s spot market, commercial-grade 4.5-12mm HRC was traded at 3,930-3,950 yuan per tonne on Wednesday July 18, down 10-20 yuan from a day earlier or 200 yuan per tonne lower than a month ago.

Traders expect more price cuts from Wuhan Steel for September, unless spot prices rebound in August.