[SMM Sheets & Plates Daily Review] Sheets & Plates Prices Rose Slightly During the Day, Market Performance Varied

Published: Jan 12, 2026 17:48

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During the day, ferrous metals held up well, with raw materials performing stronger than steel products. The most-traded HRC futures contract closed at 3,311, up slightly by 0.55%. In the spot market, the national average spot prices for cold-rolled and hot-rolled sheets rose modestly, but actual transaction performance was moderate.
From a fundamental perspective on HRC:
Supply side, according to SMM data, 39 mainstream steel mills planned a total of 13.9883 million mt of hot-rolled commercial material in January, up 4.6% MoM compared to actual hot-rolled commercial material output. 31 mainstream cold-rolled sheet mills planned a total of 4.1048 million mt of cold-rolled commercial material this month, an increase of 5.0% MoM over the actual cold-rolled commercial material output from the previous month. Both cold-rolled and hot-rolled supplies are expected to increase in January.
Demand side, approaching year-end, downstream demand release is limited, and the supply-demand imbalance is expected to gradually intensify. Sheets & plates are likely to reach a seasonal inventory buildup turning point in late January.
In the short term, recent news from the raw material supply side and macro perspective has had an increasing impact. HRC's own fundamentals provide relatively small support for upward price movement. The most-traded HRC futures contract is expected to move sideways within the range of 3,260–3,350, following the ferrous metals complex. If there is a lack of positive.

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