The PU insulated pipe market remains in a weak downtrend. Steel mills are also under heavy repayment pressure. Prices of PU insulated pipe have fallen sharply. Mills still have a certain profit margin. In addition, traders currently have little willingness to stock for winter. In order to move inventory, prices will continue to fall. In summary, mills' new prices next week are expected to remain weak, in the range of 50-100 yuan/ton. This week the section-steel market was basically stable and the downtrend has largely been eliminated. Apart from a sizable adjustment in national-standard resources, the overall range was within 50 yuan. In the previous two weeks the market had seen a sharp decline.

　　This week the downtrend eased somewhat, showing mainly a weak but stable market, with even signs of a rebound. In addition, steel billets have long held around the 2000 yuan mark without breaking it, indicating strong support. After a prolonged decline, PU insulated pipe mills and traders are highly motivated to push prices up. The rise in billet prices in Friday morning trading released that willingness and lifted market sentiment. These factors will play a certain role in short-term improvement, and the market is expected to stabilize next week. However, as market fundamentals have not changed significantly, the medium- to long-term outlook remains bearish.

　　The national cold-rolled market continued to weaken, and even some cautious, stable resource quotations saw sharp declines. The floor price on the PU insulated pipe market fell to 3150 yuan/ton, a historic low. The main reason for the deep spot-price adjustment is the approaching Spring Festival holiday, insufficient mill operating rates, and limited actual digestion of resources. After entering January, market transactions became even quieter, while at the same time bank-loan repayment pressure on steel mills rose sharply. Enterprises generally sped up shipments, and market sentiment was negative.