China Rebar Price Inches Down, Sales Up Slightly

China's national average price of HRB 400 20mm dia rebar retreated another Yuan 5/tonne ($0.7/t) on day to Yuan 3,749/t including 13% VAT as of February 12 as the domestic steel demand remained stagnant though daily trading volume improved slightly.

On Wednesday, the daily transaction of long steel products continued to grow but at a slow pace and the trading volume of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among 237 steel traders across China totalled 5,560 tonnes/day, slightly up from 5,034 t/d in the prior day, according to Mysteel's daily transaction report.

At present, China is still fighting a fierce battle against the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (NCP), but Beijing has called for key industries that supply medical materials and daily necessities as well as crucial construction projects mainly infrastructure to resume operations as soon as possible, as reported.

The Tangshan Q235 150mm square billet price, another barometer to domestic market sentiment, for the time being, remained unchanged at Yuan 3,300/t EXW and including 13% VAT as of February 12, a level that it had persisted for almost a month, according to Mysteel's data.

Despite the tepid demand in China's steel market for the time being, a Beijing-based ferrous analyst was hopeful for some improvement in the near future, explaining, "Beijing has been making efforts recently including calling for resumptions of operations to stabilize the national economy and to achieve the target of becoming a well-off society by 2020, both are supportive to steel demand."

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