China's rebar price falls further, sales recover

On June 8, China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel's assessment softened for the second day by Yuan 47/tonne ($7.3/t), while daily sales of construction steel including rebar among the 237 Chinese steel traders under Mysteel's survey rebounded by 25.3%, indicating the wavering trading enthusiasm in the relatively low steel consumption season with the hot and humid summer in many parts of China.

On Tuesday, the rebar price declined further to Yuan 5,153/t including the 13% VAT, while the daily trading volume of construction steel also comprising wire rod and bar-in-coil among the surveyed traders recovered by 41,101 tonnes/day on day to 203,238 t/d.

Meanwhile, China's actual demand for steel has been dampened by the weather, and steel traders are with mixed feelings, as some may think it a good time to stock up on noting the slow price recoveries from the slumps in mid and late May, but the others are with low enthusiasm either because of their higher-priced stocks or uncertainties in steel demand for the rest of the year.

On June 8, Tangshan Q235 150mm square billet price in North China's Hebei province, a bellwether of the Chinese spot steel market sentiment, stayed unchanged for the second assessment day at Yuan 4,940/t EXW including the VAT, according to Mysteel's monitoring.

In contrast, China's imported iron ore prices strengthened on June 8, with Mysteel SEADEX 62% Australian Fines, for example, reversing up by $7.9/dmt on day to $209.8/dmt CFR Qingdao.

Written by Rong Zhang, zhangronga@mysteel.com

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