Limited Near-Term Fundamental Catalysts for Sheets & Plates; Expected to Hold Up Well Next Week on Cost-Side Strength

Published: Mar 13, 2026 17:36

Save

This week, hot-rolled coil fluctuated higher, with the most-traded contract closing at 3,295 on Friday, up 0.52% on the day. In the spot market, weekly prices were raised by 30-70 yuan/mt, and transactions improved somewhat WoW. Looking ahead, sheets & plates fundamentals are unlikely to offer much narrative room, while cost support will play a more dominant role. Before there is any clear pickup in domestic and overseas demand for hot-rolled coil, prices are likely to continue to hold up well in the short term in line with cost trends. The most-traded contract is expected to fluctuate in a range of around 3,250-3,330.

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 to learn 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

46 mins ago

Strong Cost Support Remained; Ferrous Metals May Hold Up Well in the Short Term [SMM Steel Industry Chain Weekly Report]

This week, ferrous metals rebounded from the bottom. At the start of the week, coking coal and coke led the futures higher, mainly driven by rising crude oil prices in the overseas market, which pushed the energy and chemicals sector stronger accordingly; mid-week, both the U.S. and Iran signaled a more relaxed stance toward war, easing geopolitical tensions, while coal prices fell in tandem, weakening the cost-side logic, and ferrous metals fluctuated at highs; in the latter half of the week, worsening short-term liquidity issues in BHP's iron ore port inventory triggered stronger iron ore prices in the overseas market, while the Middle East situation remained volatile, reinforcing cost support and pushing ferrous metals higher again. In the spot market, supported by futures, end-user and arbitrage purchase sentiment both improved WoW this week......

46 mins ago

1 hour ago

[SMM Daily HRC Trading Volume] Futures Hovered at Highs, Spot Trading Changed Relatively Little

[SMM Daily HRC Trading Volume] On March 13, the total daily HRC trading volume of sample enterprises in SMM's four cities (Shanghai, Lecong, Tianjin, Ningbo) was 15,910 mt, down 40 mt day on day (-0.3%), down 11.27% YoY on a calendar basis, and up 12.20% YoY on a lunar calendar basis.

1 hour ago

MMi Daily Iron Ore Report (March 13)

The continuous iron ore contract opened with a gap up today, showing strength in the early morning but weakening in the afternoon. The main contract, I2605, eventually closed at 811.5 CNY/ton, up 2.33% from the previous trading session.

1 hour ago