Raw material news drove futures into positive territory, intraday sheets & plates trading improved slightly.

Published: Jul 14, 2026 17:47

Save

Intraday, multiple ferrous metals futures turned positive, with the most-traded HRC contract closing at 3302, up 0.67%. In the spot market, cold-rolled and hot-rolled prices edged up within the day, trading performance was moderate, improving MoM. News-wise, disturbances from the raw material side intensified intraday, driving HRC futures to strengthen.

Fundamentally, the impact of steel mill maintenance is rising in July, and production is expected to remain at medium-to-low levels. Against the backdrop of the off-season, inventory will gradually accumulate in July. In other aspects, there are still expectations for macro meetings in late July, and the cost side still faces periodic stimulus from raw material ore and coke. Short-term sheets & plates prices are expected to fluctuate following cost trends. Considering HRC fundamentals are hard to provide strong price drivers, the upside room for prices driven by periodic macro and cost stimulus is temporarily limited. Attention is on the most-traded HRC contract at 3330-3350.

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

Common.Time.minsAgo

[SMM HRC Arrivals] Arrival Ratio Increased Significantly This Period

Common.Time.minsAgo

7.14 SMM Global Steel Daily Report

China Steel Export: [Flat products] Raw-material news lifts HRC export deals up 1 USD On July 14 China's HRC and other flat-product export prices rose 1 USD/tonne day on day, with HRC export deals at 486-492 USD/tonne FOB. Futures climbed quickly in the afternoon on raw-material headlines, but market feedback showed no clear pickup in actual enquiries or deals, with overseas markets still needing time to react. Some northern mills said heavy rainstorms kept them from issuing offers today, which may affect subsequent shipments. [Billet] Billet export FOB steady, Jiangyin at 456-459 USD On July 14 China's billet export FOB prices were largely steady, with Jiangyin port quoted at 456-459 USD/tonne. Market feedback indicated shipment slots generally booked into September, with a few orders pushed to October. China's price advantage versus Southeast Asia, India and Iran has narrowed, making high-priced Chinese export cargoes hard to sell, while mills showed limited appetite to take new orders, saying prices were unattractive. [Rebar] Rebar export offers steady, afternoon enquiries improve On July 14 China's rebar export offers held steady, with workable FOB prices at 480-485 USD/tonne. Market participants said futures rose in the afternoon, enquiries improved somewhat, and some traders concluded small volumes.

Common.Time.minsAgo

[SMM Zhangjiagang Hot-Rolled Coil Inventory] Inventory Narrowly Accumulated This Week

This week, the hot-rolled coil inventory in Zhangjiagang was 280,000 mt, up 1,000 mt WoW, an increase of 0.36%; up 24.44% YoY.

Common.Time.minsAgo