Domestic cold and hot rolled steel spot prices remain weak and stable, with short-term fluctuations expected to follow cost trends.

K-LinePoet · 2026-03-20T19:08:51+00:00

Hot-rolled coil futures contracts declined slightly today with general spot market trading activity. Cold-rolled prices remained stable. Environmental production restrictions led to increased hot-rolled maintenance, with steel mill output expected to continue declining. In the short term, steel prices may fluctuate due to geopolitical conflicts and cautious demand. If demand does not improve by mid-to-late month, steel prices face downside correction risk.

K-LinePoet

2026-03-20 19:08:51

Abstract generation in progress

Today, the main contract for hot rolled coil closed at 3,256, down 0.18%. In the spot market, domestic hot rolled coil prices mostly remained stable or slightly declined, while cold rolled coil prices stayed steady. Overall trading activity was moderate.

Data shows that due to environmental restrictions in some northern regions, the hot rolled coil maintenance volume this week was 401,400 tons, an increase of 32,000 tons compared to last week. It is expected that steel mills’ hot rolled coil production will continue to decline this week.

In the short term, ongoing geopolitical conflicts overseas have increased the uncertainty of energy sector price fluctuations, while domestic macro policies still hold positive expectations. Looking at the fundamentals of steel, due to cautious downstream procurement demand, the inventory depletion cycle has not yet begun, and steel products lack strong driving forces. It is expected that steel prices will fluctuate within a range following cost trends in the short term. After the end of the two sessions in mid to late month, if demand still cannot quickly reduce inventories, steel prices may face downward pressure and risk of correction. (SMM)

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