WEEKLY: 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 the two long steel products are likely to move up over May 27-31, with market sentiment staying relatively positive and the destocking pace of their stocks persisting. Meanwhile, speculative buying among market participants may rise, though actual demand from end-users may hardly grow due to the hot and humid weather in southern parts of China.

Hot-rolled coil: This price may continue with the uptrend in the week ending May 31, chiefly due to high input costs and stimulus policies. Market sources point out that the output of hot-rolled coils remains high, thus their inventories hover high despite a small recovery in demand.

Cold-rolled coil: This price is estimated to slightly fluctuate in the week through May 31, with spot trading in the domestic market staying tepid as many end-users act cautiously towards procurement.

Medium plate: This price may be narrowly rangebound over May 27-31. "In the near term, local traders are rather cautious and not enthusiastic about stocking up plates," a source in South China's Guangdong said, noting that demand from local end-users is somber.

Sections: The sections' prices may soften over May 27-31, due to the limited demand with the approaching rainy season in southern China, while the output of sections may perch low as re-rollers will not be keen to ramp up production due to their squeezed margins.

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