With the full resumption of production of downstream steel enterprises, the demand for cold and hot rolled coils is gradually increasing. It is expected that the market prices of cold and hot rolled coils will stabilize and strengthen. " On February 17th, Li Zhongshuang, General Manager of Shanghai Ruikun Metal Materials Co., Ltd., stated in an interview with a reporter from China Metallurgical Daily.

Since February, the market prices of cold and hot rolled coils have fluctuated. According to statistics, from February 1st to February 17th, the price of cold rolled coil plates in the Shanghai market decreased by 50 yuan/ton from 4550 yuan/ton and then fluctuated to 4550 yuan/ton, maintaining a slight fluctuation trend overall; The price of hot-rolled coil plates has increased from 4150 yuan/ton to 110 yuan/ton, to 4260 yuan/ton.

Li Zhongshuang predicted that the market prices of cold and hot rolled coils will stabilize and strengthen as the downstream industries start to work after the Spring Festival. He predicts that the future cold and hot rolled coil market will exhibit the following characteristics:

One is that downstream terminal demand is expected to improve. After the Spring Festival, especially after the Yuanxiao (Filled round balls made of glutinous rice-flour for Lantern Festival) Festival, downstream enterprises such as automobiles and household appliances accelerated to resume production. Industry insiders have stated that in February, the car market will usher in its first "good start" after the Spring Festival, and the "gold, silver, and four" are expected to show a significant growth trend. The Passenger Car Market Information Association (hereinafter referred to as the Association) stated that February is the real market launch period after the Spring Festival. Therefore, the dormant consumer market will reflect huge new investment and consumption opportunities. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers stated that the growth rate of automobile retail in February is worth looking forward to, especially for entry-level models, which are expected to usher in a wave of "car buying". According to Li Zhongshuang's judgment, the demand for cold and hot rolled coils is expected to increase in the near future, thereby supporting the stable and strong prices of cold and hot rolled coils.

Secondly, the supply pressure for cold and hot rolled coils is not high. According to statistics from the China Iron and Steel Industry Association, in early February, key steel enterprises produced a total of 20.6211 million tons of crude steel, 18.9142 million tons of pig iron, and 19.335 million tons of steel. Among them, the daily average production of crude steel reached 2.0621 million tons, a month on month increase of 3.77%; The daily average production of pig iron reached 1.8914 million tons, a month on month increase of 4.56%; The daily average production of steel reached 1.9336 million tons, a month on month increase of 0.85%. At the same time, the social inventory of five major types of steel in 21 cities reached 13.41 million tons, a month on month increase of 1.83 million tons, an increase of 15.8%, and the increase in inventory has narrowed. From a variety perspective, the social inventory of hot-rolled coil plates is 2.24 million tons, an increase of 70000 tons or 3.2% compared to the previous month, and the increase in inventory has narrowed; The social inventory of cold rolled coil plates was 1.53 million tons, an increase of 40000 tons or 2.7% compared to the previous month, with a slight increase in inventory. Li Zhongshuang stated that overall, the increase in social inventory of cold and hot rolled coil plates is not significant, and the market supply pressure is also not significant.

"At present, the spot resources owned by steel traders are not sufficient, so there is not too much sales pressure, and the willingness to increase prices is strong, which is conducive to stabilizing and strengthening the market prices of cold and hot rolled coils in the later period." Li Zhongshuang said.

Thirdly, there is still a strong driving force behind the rigid cost support. Recently, although the prices of iron ore, coke, scrap steel and other steel raw materials have fluctuated, they are still at a high level overall. Li Zhongshuang stated that the current steel production cost remains high, and the cost support effect is relatively obvious. Therefore, when determining the factory price of steel, steel companies mainly adjust above. This will lead to higher purchase costs for steel traders, which to some extent determines that the market prices of cold and hot rolled coils in the later period will not fall significantly.