Near-term outlook on China's steel products
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Mysteel Global: 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 and wire rod: Prices of these two construction steel items are expected to continue strengthening over 2-6 September, with supply-demand fundamentals improving further. Downstream demand may keep recovering, and mills may continue to keep their output relatively low.
Hot-rolled coil: Prices will likely continue to tick up in the week ending 6 September. Supply pressure may ease a bit as steel mills plan more maintenance work or allocate some hot metal to rebar lines, where their profit margins can recover marginally. Additionally, hot-rolled coil (HRC) demand from end-users may improve as the market enters the traditional peak season for steel consumption in September.
HRC stocks at commercial warehouses in the 33 Chinese cities Mysteel tracks thinned for the second week as of 29 August, down 39,700 tonnes (t) w-o-w to reach 3.46 million tonnes (mnt).
Cold-rolled coil: Prices may be narrowly rangebound in the week through 6 September due to limited change in actual demand and the cautious attitude of some traders towards the near-term market.
Medium plate: Prices are expected to fluctuate slightly over 2-6 September. Actual demand for medium plates still lacks strength despite a small decline in retail stocks last week, and many traders are not enthusiastic about stocking up on this flat product, according to a source in South China's Guangzhou.
Sections: Sections' prices will move up this week as market sentiment improves and spot trading becomes more buoyant. On the supply side, steel mills in some regions will resume operations. However, section producers in Tangshan have been under suspension since 30 August in response to the city's air pollution control measures.
Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.
