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The steel sales price expectation index and steel purchase price expectation index in China wholesale steel market stood at 32.2% and 33.5%, respectively in May, slumping by 33.6 and 32.9 percentage points from the previous month, according to the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planner.
Overall speaking, China’s steel prices are expected to remain weak this month mainly due to high supply, lower-than-expected demand, and weakened cost support, it said.
As steel demand from downstream industries has not shown significant improvement and market panic has strengthened, expectations for May are becoming more cautious, it said.
Currently, steel companies’ loss are widening, which may force them to cut production, providing some support for steel prices in May, however, the pace of recovery of the real estate market is slow, and the increase in steel demand is limited, so the steel market is expected to remain weak in May, it added.