WEEKLY: Tangshan billet prices decline further on week

Billet prices in Tangshan, North China's Hebei province, eased slightly during the week of October 12-18 on subdued demand from local re-rollers, with Mysteel assessing the price of Q235 150mm square billet in the city at Yuan 2,950/tonne ($442/t) EXW and including the 13% VAT on October 18, slipping by Yuan 10/t on week.

Billet production costs among sampled Tangshan steel mills dropped by Yuan 46/t on-week last week to Yuan 3,143/t including the VAT, a reduction linked to the Yuan 100-110/t coke price cut that took effect on October 12. Over the same period, though the steelmakers still suffered an average margin loss