Weekly Summary: 2023 China Bearing Steel Market Trend in First Week of October is Stable

Weekly Summary: 2023 China Bearing Steel Market Trend in First Week of October is Stable

1. Review of this week

【Price】

This week, the mainstream market price of bearing steel across the country has remained stable. The current average price of GCr15Φ30 round steel in the five major markets across the country is 4,696 yuan/ton.

[Main market overview]

The price of bearing steel in Liaocheng market is stable and strong, and the transaction performance is average. In the Liaocheng market, Juneng and Jiyuan steel plants have relatively abundant supply, and the inventories of many traders remain at around 2,000 tons. According to market feedback, the price of bearing steel after the holidays has stabilized and strengthened after steel mills raised their ex-factory prices. However, shipments during the National Day holiday were lower than expected, demand performance was average, and merchants were cautious. Taken together, it is expected that the price of bearing steel in the Liaocheng market may be stable to strong in the short term. Currently, Jiyuan Steel GCr15Φ16-29.5 is quoted at 4,680 yuan/ton, and Juneng Special Steel GCr15Φ16-90 is quoted at 4,400 yuan/ton.

Bearing steel prices in the Hangzhou market have generally remained stable, and market sentiment has improved slightly. At present, the spot inventory in the Hangzhou market is dominated by resources from Zhongtian Steel, Nanjing Steel, and Daye Special Steel, and most traders maintain inventories of more than 1,500 tons. At present, social inventories have increased after the holiday, but terminal companies are cautious in purchasing, raw material prices have fallen, market transactions have slowed, and the mentality has returned to rationality, generally focusing on quick shipments and payment collections. Taken together, it is expected that the price of bearing steel in the Hangzhou market may fluctuate in the short term. As of press time, Zhongtian Steel GCr15Φ40-140 was quoted at 4,550 yuan/ton, and Daye Special Steel GCr15Φ20-40 was quoted at 5,100 yuan/ton.

The price of bearing steel in the Wuxi market fluctuates, and downstream purchases are cautious. The spot stocks in the Wuxi market are mainly resources from Zhongtian Steel, Xingcheng Special Steel, and Benxi Iron and Steel, and most traders have inventories of more than 1,000,000 tons. The current market demand is slow to release, the downstream demand is average, raw material prices are high and volatile, and market inventory is at a high level. After the holidays, the demand is not very strong, the market sentiment is not high, and most steel traders are not optimistic about the "Silver Ten" The market attitude is still relatively cautious, and terminals are replenishing stocks as needed based on order conditions. Taken together, it is expected that the price of bearing steel in the Wuxi market may remain volatile in the short term. As of press time, Zhongtian Steel GCr15Φ40-140 was quoted at 4,550 yuan/ton, and Xingcheng Special Steel GCr15Φ31-90 was quoted at 5,870 yuan/ton.

The price of bearing steel in the Luoyang market remains stable, but demand has not reached the expected level. Currently, there are limited new resources in the Luoyang market. The market is mainly supplied by Jiyuan, Daye Special Steel and Hegang Stone Steel, and some traders have inventories of around 1,000 tons. In the recent stage, the downstream sector is still mainly based on on-demand procurement, and the overall transaction volume is tepid, falling short of peak season sales expectations. Merchants are not very willing to replenish their inventory, and most of them mainly consume early inventory. Overall, it is expected that the price of bearing steel in Luoyang may fluctuate slightly in the short term. As of press time, Jiyuan Steel GCr15Φ6.5-23 was quoted at 4,800 yuan/ton, Daye Special Steel GCr15Φ20-40 was quoted at 5,150 yuan/ton, and Hegang Shigang GCr15Φ131-180 was quoted at 4,650 yuan/ton.

The price of bearing steel in the Dalian market is temporarily stable, and demand is slowly released. In the Dalian market, Benxi Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., Dongte Steel Co., Ltd. and Jianlong Beiman Steel Co., Ltd. have abundant supply, and many traders have stocks of 3,000-4,000 tons. The purchasing power of downstream terminals is insufficient, and rigid demand continues to dominate, showing a situation of "not prosperous in peak season". The improvement in demand is not obvious, the market has a situation of strong supply and weak demand, and most merchants have a wait-and-see attitude. Overall, it is expected that Dalian bearing steel prices may fluctuate within a narrow range in the short term. Bengang Special Steel GCr15Φ81-130 is currently quoted at 4,650 yuan/ton, Dongte Co., Ltd. GCr15Φ86-180 is quoted at 4,800 yuan/ton, and Jianlong Beiman GCr15Φ30-75 is quoted at 4,750 yuan/ton.

【Steel factory】

No steel mills have released price adjustment information in this issue. Next week, we should continue to pay attention to the impact of consumer demand and steel mill maintenance.

2. Outlook for next week

It is expected that the market price of bearing steel next week will be mainly stable and fluctuate in a range.