WEEKLY: Tangshan billet prices drop further on week

Billet prices in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province continued to retreat last week, with Mysteel assessing the price of Q235 150mm square billet in the city on February 8 at Yuan 2,910/tonne ($420/t) EXW including the 13% VAT, down by Yuan 30/t on week.

The dip in prices, coupled with higher production costs, widened the margin losses local steel mills suffered last week. This could partly explain the decision of several local steelmakers to ease back on billet operations during the week, Mysteel's weekly report noted. As such, the average volume of billet sold