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: The prices of two longs products may strengthen over February 26-March 1, as both their demand and production are expected to rise after the Chinese Lantern Festival on February 24 and market sentiment will recover to a certain extent. The growth in their output of these longs among mini-mills may outpace that of integrated mills.

Hot-rolled coil: This price may be largely rangebound in the week through March 1. A source in South China's Guangdong province said that the current demand for hot-rolled coils recovers at a slow pace and the destocking pressure among traders has increased, causing a shaky sentiment among many market participants.

Cold-rolled coil: This price may stay marginally volatile in the week ending March 1. Production of cold-rolled coils may hover high this week as there will be no curtailment among domestic steel producers with the output volume among the 29 steel mills nationwide Mysteel tracks reaching 830,000-840,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, the overall CRC consumption from end-users has been recovering slowly as some still have not resumed operations.

Medium plate: This price may fluctuate modestly over February 26-March 1. A Shanghai-based source shared that some traders expected a price rise in the medium plate in the future and that speculative activities may pick up moderately, while a source in South China's Guangzhou suggested a jittery mood among many traders due to weak demand.

Sections: The sections' prices are forecast to gain over February 26-March 1 on the support of a pickup in demand and strong expectations of favorable macroeconomic policies. Output of sections may rise slightly this week due to the resumption of production among re-rollers, and integrated mills have also received orders steadily. Demand will edge up as end-users gradually recommence work on construction sites.

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