Falling Steel Demand in China and its Effects on Prices

  • Friday, December 5, 2008
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  • Keywords:Steel Demand China Effects Prices
[Fellow]
In China, metal scrap dealers are trying desperately to sell their products to local dealers who have altogether stopped to purchase scrap due to declining markets in the wake of low demand. Chinese authorities have recently scrapped duties on steel exports. Some dealers were seen to shut down their operations after failing to trade scrap at prevailing market prices. They stated that they could not purchase scrap material sold locally point to the fact that pricing had hit its bottom levels. Previously, these dealers used to acquire scrap material at a price of $0.30 per kilogram and aluminum at 1.50 US dollars per kilogram to US$1.80 per kilogram. The dealers are not willing to purchase aluminum at 0 US$.30 per kilogram. Collectors of aluminum cans are not selling the cans they collected. Instead, they are storing them and waiting for the prices to improve. Most of the traders have informed that they are having hard time while getting rid of scrap materials they have purchased from local resellers at comparably higher prices. These traders have chosen not to export the scrap at low price. As an ardent native, they have closed their shops for the time being regaining the stocks they possess and waiting for the time when prices rebound.

Some traders might have to close their shops for good due to big losses they suffered owing to the fact that they purchased scrap material at high prices but had to sell it at a ridiculously low price. Some local traders lost their money because when their consignments were ready to be shipped to the customers, the prices of scrap had fallen sharply. On the other hand, customers have welcomed plummeting price of scrap materials besides asking authorities for the regulation on its numbers. The cardinality of dealers trading scrap material became very high. This raised an opportunity for thieves to steal metals from public areas and sell it in the form of scrap. Since prices have declined, it is expected that theft of public properties shall decrease largely as doing so is no more incentivized. Previously, thieves stole many metal products from public properties including electric cables, metal ratings, drain covers, road signs, billboards, postal boxes, and small sized polls and showed them as scrap material. Some insiders state that previously, local dealers used to purchase scrap materials at very low prices but sell them at significantly higher price. So they should not complain about losses keeping in view the huge profits they bagged in past. Besides that, citizens have welcomed falling prices because it has become cheaper to construct houses and buildings where metal structures are extensively used.
  • [Editor:editor]

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