Today, the domestic Shandong seamless steel pipe market followed the same trend as yesterday. The black commodity series began to retreat from the overnight session of yesterday, and this trend continued throughout the morning trading. In the afternoon, boosted by positive environmental protection news, the market saw a round of rebound. By the end of the trading day, while coking coal failed to close higher, iron ore kept up and closed flat, with other commodities all ending in the green. There was a significant increase in holdings and trading volume, with the increase in the majority of holdings being notably greater than that of short positions. Coking coal also attracted over 800 million yuan in capital as investors re-entered the market.
The spot market remains "strong for long products, weak for plates," with the bottom price of steel coils slightly rising and plate prices stable yet weakening. In terms of transactions, inquiries in the morning were sparse, but due to the support from futures rebound, there was better steel coil shipment in the afternoon, and terminal purchases increased. Plate transactions still remained poor, and steel mills' order-taking performance was average.
Due to weather conditions, starting tomorrow, Hebei, Jiangsu, and other regions will initiate emergency response to heavy pollution. Steel companies are also increasing their production cutbacks. It is reported that in Tangshan, the heavy pollution weather warning period is within 120 hours, and enterprises with performance ratings of B and C will shut down their sintering and pelletizing equipment; during subsequent periods, production will be halted by 50% (inclusive). Short process steel industry independent sintering, pelletizing, and rolling enterprises will also cease operations.
Additionally, the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting will announce the final interest rate decision at 2:00 AM Beijing Time on Thursday. Currently, the market widely expects another 25 basis point rate cut, which, if realized, would be beneficial for commodities.
The market sentiment has led to a surge in the black series, yet the physical market has shown no significant movement. With the positive factors already released in advance, the sustainability in the later stage remains to be seen. After effective digestion, the market will return to the fundamentals of supply and demand. Focus should be placed on production levels and inventory reduction.
In terms of prices, according to the monitoring data from the Steel Cloud Trade Platform, as of today, the average price of Ф25mm Grade 3 rebars in key domestic cities is 3,781 yuan per ton, up 6 yuan from yesterday; the average price of Ф6.5mm high tensile steel wire in key domestic cities is 4,108 yuan, down 4 yuan from the previous day; the average price of 5.5mm hot-rolled steel coil in key domestic cities is 3,615 yuan, down 1 yuan from yesterday; the average price of 1.0mm cold rolled steel in key central cities is 4,228 yuan, down 1 yuan from the previous day; the average price of 20mm medium plate in key domestic cities is 3,719 yuan, down 2 yuan from yesterday.
In raw material news, today, Changli 150*150 plain carbon billets in Tangshan are priced at 3,350 yuan, up 10 yuan from yesterday; the price of 61.5% grade Australian PB iron ore concentrate at Jingtang Port is 680 yuan, down 10 yuan from yesterday; the tax-inclusive factory price of high-grade metallurgical coke in Tangshan is 1,860 yuan, unchanged from yesterday.
