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 based on a series of related surveys and communication with market participants.

Rebar & wire rod: Construction steel prices are expected to stay range bound over April 20-24 amid swelling production at the steel mills and unsustainable demand from the downstream sectors.

Hot-rolled coil: The slight recovery seen last week in the price of this flat steel product may turn out to be a temporary phenomenon after all, as over April 20-24, HRC will still be under the persistent pressure of high inventories when spot trading volume reduces.

Cold-rolled coil: CRC price may edge down modestly over April 20-24, as downstream demand was too feeble and sales may not further incline from that over April 13-17, though inventories at both the traders and mills have been inching down consistently.

Medium plate: Market participants expect the price to further strengthen over April 20-24, though there are some uncertainties, as inventories at the traders shed another 6.5% on week over April 13-17 but the stocks at the mills nosed up by another 2.4% on week.

Sections: The section price may stick to a weak choppy pattern over April 20-24, as the speculated 50% capacity cut in Tangshan, North China's Hebei province in steelmaking and rolling amid poor air quality has yet become a prevailing reality, and thus unable to lend much support to prices.