WEEKLY: Tangshan billet prices pull back on week

Billet prices in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province slipped on week after the Yuan 40/tonne ($5.7/t) rise the week before, with Mysteel assessing the price of Q235 150mm square billet in the city on January 18 at Yuan 2,960/t EXW including the 13% VAT, down by Yuan 10/t on week.

Despite the small price drop, larger declines in steelmaking raw material prices helped lower billet production costs, the Mysteel data showed. This allowed the sampled Tangshan steel mills to recover their average profit margins from selling billets to breakeven point. As such, some local steelmakers brought hot-idled blast furnaces back