[SMM Sheets & Plates Daily Review] Sheets & Plates to Continue Consolidating in the Near Term

Published: Aug 13, 2026 17:28

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The most-traded HRC contract moved sideways today, closing at 3,233, down 0.34% DoD. Supply side, HRC production this week was 3.0613 million mt, up 12,500 mt WoW. Newly added production resumptions increased, and production next week is still expected to grow, though the absolute level remains low. Demand side, in the off-season, end-user buying was mainly at low prices, and speculative sentiment was weak. Raw material side, the fuel shortage in Mongolia has eased, weakening the upward driver for coking coal and coke. Although the demand side is beginning to show expectations of a bottom, the short-term impact from sentiment is clearly larger, and upward cost support is fading. Overall, affected by the typhoon, HRC inventory saw temporary destocking this week, but the market generally expects that the inventory inflection point has not appeared during the off-season; therefore, futures did not trade on this information. In the short term, sheets & plates are likely to consolidate in line with costs. Watch for destocking in coking coal and coke as Mongolia's fuel issue is resolved, and for China's supply recovery.

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