Chinese flat steel producers have differing market expectations in October, Kallanish notes.

Shougang has adjusted its HRC prices in line with major producers Baosteel and Wugang, cutting list prices by CNY 100/tonne ($14/t). It has also decreased thick-plate offers by CNY 100/t for October. In terms of other flat steel products such as cold-rolled coil, pickled coil, galvanized coil and colour-coated coil, offers remain unchanged from September.

Angang has moved in the opposite direction however. It has added CNY 100/t to HRC, CRC and galvanized steel offers in October, suggesting a more positive expectation for demand recovery in the autumn.