Near-term outlook on China's key steel products

Below is the brief near-term outlook of the five key steel products Mysteel shares on a weekly basis, drawing upon the results of related surveys and communication with market participants.

Rebar & wire rod: The prices may soften over November 16-20, as demand from North China is expected to retreat on the increasingly cold weather, and some traders may trim offering prices to sell off some stocks.

Hot-rolled coil: The price is likely to hover high in the third week of November, mainly on the support of declining inventories at both the mills and the traders, along with the remaining bullish market sentiment.

Cold-rolled coil: China's market participants expect the price to strengthen in the week ending November 20, citing fair demand from the end-users and tight availability emerging in some regional markets.

Medium plate: The price may lose some steam over November 16-20, as supply tightness has eased in some regional markets after the ramp-up of output among the local steel mills.

Sections: The price is expected to stay largely firm with limited volatilities in the week to November 20, mainly underpinned by the solid billet price, as that of the Q235 150mm square billet in Tangshan, for example, jumped Yuan 70/tonne ($10.6/t) on week to Yuan 3,580/t EXW including the 13% VAT on November 13, though it inched down by Yuan 10/t on November 16.

Written by Zach Wang, wangxb@mysteel.com

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