Based on the statistical analysis, as of the first week after Chinese New Year, the steel prices in China have sent strong signals of price increases when Chinese steel mills opened for business after the New Year while the strip coil prices surged to higher levels.

According to the trends in the past, Chinese steel prices tended to go up after the Chinese New Year holidays. It was the same in this year. Many major galvanized strip coil mills in China have raised the prices to US$40/ton higher than the prices before Chinese New Year.

On February 26th, the average price increased for hot-rolled steel coils was about US$25/ton higher than that before Chinese New Year. It was said that based on the price performances offered from the mills, it was very likely the steel prices would keep going up in short term perspective.