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 be rangebound over May 11-15, as post-holiday demand from end-users was better than expected, even though the pace of decline in stocks at both the steel mills and the traders slowed on week over May 1-7.

Hot-rolled coil: The price may strengthen further over May 11-15, mainly on the support of better spot trading and the further decline in production over May 6-9, though higher price may encourage steel producers to ramp up output modestly when their maintenance is completed.

Cold-rolled coil: The price may stand chances of firming up over May 11-15 because of less production from the Chinese steel mills and the acceleration in inventories depletion among the traders over May 6-9.

Medium plate: the price may strengthen over May 11-15, as the sentiment has improved among the traders on noting the healthy demand from the end-users in the first week after China's Labour Day holiday.

Sections: The price may edge up over May 11-15, as some steel mills tested the market with higher EXW prices, and billet price in Tangshan, North China's Hebei province, gained another Yuan 50/MTfrom the end of April to Yuan 3,140/t EXW including the 13% VAT on May 8.

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