[SMM Sheets & Plates Daily Review] Futures rose before falling, with intraday trading weak

Published: Oct 13, 2026 17:27 (GMT+8)

Save

Today, HRC futures rose before falling, with the most-traded HC2701 contract closing at 3,254 yuan/mt, down 0.34% for the day. The spot market fell by 10-20 yuan/mt, with intraday trading average. From a fundamental perspective, in terms of supply, this week's HRC impact from maintenance was 193,800 mt, up 53,400 mt WoW. Next week's HRC impact from maintenance is expected at 144,900 mt, down 48,800 mt WoW. On the demand side, incremental fiscal policies for Q4 have been implemented, but their boost to end-use demand for steel remains to be verified. Looking at the latest industry chain data, the property cycle downtrend is hard to reverse, NEV sales are on a YoY downtrend, and the export tax rebate rate will be cut by another 4 percentage points starting April 1 next year. End-use demand performance is weak, so HRC destocking pressure is expected to increase, and HRC prices will continue to fluctuate weakly.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or for more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

1 hour ago

[SMM Analysis] Scrap Procurement Eases; EAF Operating Rate Rises 2.0% in the Period

As of October 13, the operating rate of 50 EAF (electric arc furnace) mills nationwide primarily producing construction steel stood at 37.5%, up 2.0% week-on-week. Capacity utilization came in at 38.04%, up 2.24% from the previous period, while average daily construction steel output reached 84,700 tonnes, up 5,000 tonnes from the previous period.

1 hour ago

2 hours ago

[SMM Steel]

[Steel Billet] Today, export FOB prices for square billet held steady, with Jiangyin Port quoting USD 460–465/t. Shipment schedules for export orders are mainly concentrated in November, with a small portion extending into December. Feedback indicates that overseas buyers have been making inquiries; however, given the relatively high cost of earlier raw material procurement, some exporters are currently holding firm on their billet export quotes, making orders harder to secure.

2 hours ago

[SMM Steel]

[Sheets & Plates] Today, export prices for HRC and some other sheets & plates fell $1/mt WoW, with HRC transaction prices concentrated in the $492-495/mt range. Some producers in South China and Northeast China are still maintaining high offers, while actual transaction prices in North China are slightly below market quotes, at close to $490/mt.

2 hours ago