Hot-Rolled Steel Prices to Fall with Traders under Tight Financing

SHANGHAI, Mar.26 – According to Steelease sources, traders and downstream enterprises of steel sector were under tight financing this month as loans for both last year and this quarter are due for repayment. Downstream enterprises focused on collecting payments. This left little chance for large amount of steel purchases. This week, the situation will be exacerbated with the month coming to an end.

Hot-rolled steel prices remained stable last week despite the rally in the futures market, adding to wait-and-see mood downstream. Prices held steady at the beginning of the week, and some downstream purchases are postponed to the latter half of the week, while traders are still busy collecting money this week. Thus, prices for hot-rolled steel may fall of no more policy changes are reported as sellers are eager to move goods to generate cash.