China's rebar price hits 1-month low, sales poor

On December 28, China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel's assessment touched a one-month low of Yuan 4,765/tonne ($748/t) including the 13% VAT, or having decreased for the sixth working day by another Yuan 31/t, and spot trading of construction steel including rebar perched low despite an on-day recovery of 5.4%.

On Tuesday, the daily trading volume of construction steel also comprising wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 Chinese traders under Mysteel's survey reversed up 7,348 tonnes/day on day to 143,435 t/d, though demand from end-users continued to soften towards the year-end and amid falling temperatures in cold winter months.

On the same day, the Q235 150mm square billet price in North China's Tangshan under Mysteel's assessment remained unchanged on day at Yuan 4,290/t EXW including the 13% VAT.

China's near-term steel market outlook may remain gloomy, as the most-traded May 2022 rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, for example, eased for the second trading day on December 28, down Yuan 67/t or 1.5% from the prior day's settlement price to close the daytime trading session at Yuan 4,319/t.

On signs of falling Chinese steel prices, Mysteel SEADEX 62% Australian Fines also dipped for the second working day, down $4/dmt on day to reach $117.7/dmt CFR Qingdao as of December 28.

Written by Rong Zhang, zhangronga@mysteel.com

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