China's rebar price up despite weaker sales

On September 7, China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel's assessment had been steadily strengthening for the fourth working day, up another Yuan 27/tonne ($4.2/t) on day, though spot sales of construction steel including rebar had been fluctuating so far in September, down for the second working day and substantially by 26.9% on day, indicating the uptrend in the steel demand had yet been confirmed amid uncertainties in market outlook and price rises.

On Tuesday, the rebar price rose to Yuan 5,419/t and including the 13% VAT, while the daily trading volume of construction steel also comprising wire rod and bar-in-coil among China's 237 traders under Mysteel's tracking declined further by 70,120 tonnes/day on day to 190,880 t/d.

As of September 7, Tangshan Q235 150mm square billet price in North China's Hebei province moved up for the fifth assessment day by another Yuan 20/t on day to Yuan 5,120/t EXW and including the VAT, Mysteel's data showed.

Chinese steel mills have been experiencing greater volatility in raw material prices with iron ore in particular recently, and on Tuesday, Mysteel SEADEX 62% Australian Fines, for example, rebounded $6.65/dmt on day to $137.4/dmt CFR Qingdao after a $12.05/dmt slip on Monday.

In line with the strengthening in spot steel prices, the most-traded January 2022 rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained for the fourth trade day on Tuesday, up Yuan 67/t or 1.2% from Monday's settlement price when closing the daytime trading session at Yuan 5,494/t.

Written by Rong Zhang, zhangronga@mysteel.com

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