Shandong ductile cast iron prices up with reasonable demand

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 13 Jan 11 – Reasonable deals of ductile cast iron are concluded this week and some iron plants are even out of stock as the production cost continues to rise. Therefore, the mainstream iron plants begin to raise the price by RMB30-50/t while end-users accept the price growth and make normal purchases at the moment. 

A source from a famous Weihai-based iron plant stated that the production cost remains high due to the rising iron ore and coke prices as the plant receives reasonable orders this week with some products even out of stock. Therefore, the plant raises the quotation for high-quality ductile cast iron Q10 to RMB4,200/t VAT included EX works, up by RMB50/t compared with that of last week with the minimum favorable price of RMB4,180/t to some regular customers. The plant is mianly supplying the material to buyers in Jiaodong Peninsula. 

A source from a Jinan-based iron plant disclosed that the plant’s quotation for high-quality ductile cast iron Q10 this week is RMB4,120/t with cash payment, up by RMB30/t compared with that of last week. The plant’s quotation for high-quality ductile cast iron Q12 is RMB4,150/t on the same basis and an additional RMB20/t should be paid for acceptance as a result of the increasing production cost. The plant purchases iron ore fines of high grade at above RMB1,500/t whilst purchasing secondary metallurgical coke at above RMB2,000/t and it will take some time before buyers can accept the price growth.

A source from a Linyi-based iron plant stated that the purchasing price of imported material increased by USD4/t the day before yesterday while their quotation for cast iron and ductile cast iron remains firm at RMB4,000/t at the moment. They are considering raising pig iron price again these days. Moreover, the plant plans to move out a batch of steelmaking iron before the lunar new year and customers who need the material can come and negotiate. 

It is confirmed that large producers in Shandong will raise their quotation for iron ore by RMB35/t, which will surely cut the profits of iron plants. As a result of the price growth, the quotation of Jinling and Luzhong will be RMB1,480/t and RMB1,460-1,480/t respectively while that of Hualian will be RMB1,440-1,460/t VAT included EX works. And for pig iron market in Shandong, the price is still likely to rise slightly before the lunar new year while the increase rate largely depends on whether customers can accept it