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 these longs may grow modestly over March 20-24, as the continuous decline in stocks at the warehouses has lent some support to the prices.

Rebar stocks at the warehouses have declined for the fourth week, with rebar stocks at the 429 warehouses in 132 Chinese cities under Mysteel's tracking standing at 12.3 million tonnes as of March 16,down by 3% on week.

Hot-rolled coil: This price may gain in the week ending March 24, mainly underpinned by the solid market fundamental of hot coils.

Besides, the steady drop in hot coil stocks also boosted its prices. The HRC stocks at the 194 warehouses in 55 Chinese cities under Mysteel's tracking lost 4.9% on week to 3.8 million tonnes as of March 16.

Cold-rolled coil: The price may grow this week, as many mills have secured sufficient orders from end-users and maintained steady production. Besides, bullish sentiment in the market also gave a boost to the prices.

Medium plate: The price may slip this week, as demand from end-users has been lower than expected. Besides, many traders have been unwilling to procure plates amid bearish sentiment.

High plate output among steelmakers also weighed on the prices. As of March 15, plate stocks at 37 steelmakers Mysteel tracks gained by 3.2% on week to 1.5 million tonnes, according to Mysteel's tracking.

Sections: Prices may gain over March 20-24, as demand from end-users have shown tendency of growing. Besides, many traders are likely to lift their offering prices for sections that they previously procured at high prices.

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.