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 two construction steel items may stay largely rangebound over August 21-25. Last week, the long steel fundamentals improved as downstream demand saw significant recovery with the impact of floods in the northern part of China receding, and rebar production decreased further, in line with market participants' expectations. The prices may source some support from low steel inventories and better market sentiment, sources said.

Hot-rolled coil: This price is forecast to soften in the week through August 25, as end-users may be inactive in replenishing their hot coil stocks, while mills' output may hardly witness declines.

The stocks of hot-rolled coils at commercial warehouses in 33 Chinese cities Mysteel tracks had grown for the fourth week, rising by 12,100 tonnes on week to 2.89 million tonnes as of August 17.

Cold-rolled coil: This price may slightly fluctuate in the week ending August 25, in the context of high production among steelmakers and slow consumption from the manufacturing industry.

Medium plate: This price may be narrowly rangebound over August 21-25, with many traders holding a negative view towards the market outlook, and purchases from end-user may be generally flat.

Sections: The sections' prices are likely to be stable over August 21-25. Market sources noted that both steel production control measures and expected improvement in steel demand should be paid attention to in the future.

Written by Rong Zhang, zhangronga@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.