Chinese Rebar Price Hits 3.5-Month High, Trade Softens

China's HRB400 20mm dia rebar price reached a new high since February 3 after increasing another Yuan 38/tonne ($5.4/MT) on day. It hit Yuan 3,904/t, including the 13% VAT on Tuesday, according to Mysteel's assessment. However, trading had receded notably from a 13-month high record on Monday, Mysteel Global noted.

On Tuesday, trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil totalled 232,261 MT/day, dropping 77,083 MT/d or 25% on day. However, the tonnage still remained above the 200,000 MT/d mark that is the normal level for the peak demand season in spring, according to Mysteel's daily data tracker across 237 steel traders nationwide.

"The prices are climbing so quickly, which happens every year around this time. I am afraid that they will start to fall sharply soon," an official from a steel mill based in North China's Hebei province commented.

China's two political sessions--the top two annual political meetings of the country--are usually held in spring season as well, often in March, but they were delayed till late May this year due to COVID-19.

"Now everyone is a bit concerned that the prices are 'dangerously high' lately. Hence, they preferred to not make any moves for now," a Shanghai-based market watcher said.

On Tuesday, Tangshan Q235 150mm square billet price also hit a new high since February 13 at Yuan 3,260/MT EXW and including the VAT, after climbing another Yuan 10/MT on day.

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