China: Tangshan Rebar Price at One-Month High on Strong Demand

Mysteel's Tangshan Q235 150mm square billet benchmark price, bellwether of China's steel market sentiment, increased a total of Yuan 60/MT ($8.6/MT) over the weekend to Yuan 3,190/MT EXW and including the VAT as of March 15. It is the highest level in the recent month, as local demand reached a "peak level", according to a Chinese market source.

"Currently, the daily billet consumption is around 94,000 MT/day, but as for billet supplies, even if we consider those from other regions in China, only add up to around 50,000 MT/day," the source said, emphasizing the supply-demand gap. Tangshan is China's largest steel producing city and billet supply base in North China's Hebei province.

Mysteel's national average HRB400 20mm dia rebar benchmark price, another key indicator of China's steel market dynamics, also inched up Yuan 3/MT on day to Yuan 3,605/MT, including the VAT, on March 13. The rebar price had been increasing for three consecutive days amid steady demand recovery.

On Friday, trading volume of China's construction steel comprising of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil reached 201,465 MT/d, reversing up 58,210 MT/d or 40.6% on day after a slight dampening on Thursday, according to Mysteel's daily monitor across 237 Chinese steel traders. This was the highest trading volume since December 9 2019, Mysteel Global noted.

"The actual demand is still recovering slowly and it will continue to pick up next week. Steel traders are holding firm to their higher offering prices, as the transaction prices are now already lower than their stocks costs," a Shanghai-based market source commented last Friday.

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