China: Rebar price climbs to 3-month high after CNY

China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar price continued to move up for the fourth consecutive working day after the Chinese New Year holiday (CNY) as of last Friday by another Yuan 29/tonne ($4.6/t) on day to Yuan 5,032/t including the 13% VAT, again refreshing the three-month high, according to Mysteel's assessment.

Chinese steel producers and traders kept pushing prices higher last Friday on gradual demand recovery among end-users after the CNY holiday over January 31-February 6, according to market sources.

Meanwhile, spot sales remained largely poor last Friday with most end-users returning to work around the Chinese Lantern Festival which falls on February 15 this year, but speculative trading among some traders was active, according to an industry source based in Shanghai.

Mysteel will resume its daily survey on construction steel trading including rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil since February 14 with the gradual resumption of trading.

Last Friday, the overall steel market sentiment remained upbeat, though there had been caution among traders in particular after the iron ore prices on the Dalian Commodity Exchange slumped late last Friday as Beijing called on tightening surveillance over speculations in the iron ore market, market sources noted.

Steel sources in North China in particular are also worrying about slower demand recovery due to the ongoing production restrictions imposed on the downstream construction and manufacturing sectors during the Winter Olympic Games being held in and around Beijing over February 4-20.

The Q235 150mm square billet price in Tangshan, North China's Hebei province, an indicator of the steel market dynamics, reversed down Yuan 40/t over the weekend to Yuan 4,700/t EXW and including the VAT as of February 13.

Written by Olivia Zhang, zhangwd@mysteel.com

This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.