On April 22, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced that during last week (Apr. 14-20) the overall average finished steel price in China declined by 0.1 percent compared to the previous week.
In the given week, the average prices of hot rolled strip, common round bar, non-grain-oriented silicon steel and rebar decreased by 0.5 percent, 0.5 percent, 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, while the average prices of welded steel tube, hot dip galvanized sheet and high-speed wire rod increased by 0.2 percent, 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, all week on week.
In the week ending April 20, the average price of minerals in China rose by 0.9 percent compared to the previous week. In particular, the average prices of molybdenum ore, iron ore, zinc ore, lead ore, tin ore and copper ore indicated increases of 1.4 percent, 1.0 percent, 1.0 percent, 0.8 percent, 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, while average prices of tungsten ore and antimony ore both decreased by 2.2 percent, all week on week.
In the given week, the average price of non-ferrous metals in China rose by 0.7 percent compared to the previous week. The average price of nickel (Ni >= 99.2%) increased by 3.4 percent week on week.
In addition, in the week in question, the average price of energy in China increased by 0.1 percent week on week. The average prices of brown coal, bituminous coal and anthracite coal remained stable in the given week. Meanwhile, the average price of crude oil rose by 2.1 percent, while the average price of coke remained unchanged, both week on week.
