According to a survey of major steel wholesale markets across the country, the expected sales price index and the expected purchase price index of steel in the wholesale markets in May were 67.9% and 69.0% respectively. Compared with the previous month, they rose by 16.5 and 16.6 percentage points respectively, indicating that the market expected that steel prices in May would run relatively strongly. 

The expected sales volume index for the steel wholesale market in May was 60.6%, down by 15.9 percentage points from the previous month and still above the 50% threshold; the expected inventory volume index was 43.6%, up by 8.7 percentage points from the previous month and below the 50% threshold, indicating that the market anticipates an increase in steel sales volume in May, but the growth rate is lower than that of the previous month, and the inventory will continue to be reduced. 

In May, the expected index for the sales cost of the steel wholesale market and the expected index for the sales profit margin were 66.1% and 52.3% respectively. Compared with the previous month, they increased by 18.9 and 1.4 percentage points respectively, indicating that the market expected the sales cost of steel to increase. However, due to the increase in sales prices, the changes in sales profits were basically insignificant.

In May, the prices of raw materials such as coke continued to rise, and the production cost of steel increased, which still provided certain support for the spot prices. Moreover, favorable policies to support the demand for rigid housing purchases were introduced in many places, and the market had a preference for the expectations for May. However, steel mills had expectations of increasing production under the condition of profit recovery, and the downstream demand was unlikely to see a significant boost. Therefore, it is expected that the domestic steel prices will mainly operate in a trend of fluctuation and strength.