Near-term outlook on China's steel products

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

Rebar & wire rod: Prices of these longs may grow over February 20-24, as the accumulation of rebar stocks at commercial warehouses has slowed with the improving demand from end-users.

As of February 16, rebar stocks at the 429 warehouses in 132 Chinese cities under Mysteel's tracking gained by 3.1% on week to 13.1 million tonnes.

Hot-rolled coil: This price may gain in the week ending February 24, as market sentiment has improved with the decline in HRC stocks at the warehouses.

As of February 16, HRC stocks at the 194 warehouses in 55 Chinese cities under Mysteel's tracking slipped by 2.6% on week to 4.4 million tonnes.

Cold-rolled coil: The price may fluctuate in a small range this week, as the spot trading volume has been lower than expected. However, mills' high production costs will lend some support to the prices.

Medium plate: The price may strengthen this week, as trading activities in the spot sales market have turned better compared with the previous week.

Besides, the decline in mills' output also gave a boost to the prices. Total plate output at the 37 steelmakers Mysteel tracks eased by 3.1% on week to 1.4 million tonnes as of February 15.

Sections: Prices may increase modestly this week, as spot trading has been higher than expected, and some mills have firmed their offering prices on high production costs.

Written by Villanelle Xia, xiayi@mysteel.com

Edited by Alyssa Ren, rentingting@mysteel.com

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.