Posted on 20 Feb 2023
Rebar production among the 137 Chinese steel producers sampled by Mysteel nationwide climbed for the third straight week over February 9-15 and at a faster pace of 7% or 172,400 tonnes on week to total 2.63 million tonnes, Mysteel's new survey data show. Output had risen by 4.8% on week in the previous period.
Behind the further rise in rebar production was the fact that many electric-arc-furnace makers – particularly those in South, East and Southwest China – resumed their operations during the survey week, the data showed.
Both rebar rolling capacity utilization and operational rates among these surveyed steelmakers moved up, with the former gaining for the third week, climbing by 3.8 percentage points on week to 57.7%, and the latter rising for the fourth week, up 1 percentage point to reach 42% during the same period.
As for demand, construction on municipal public works and infrastructure projects across many cities has been resuming steadily, and steel consumption showed a significant recovery on a weekly basis, according to survey respondents.
Spot trading of construction steel including rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 Chinese steel trading houses under Mysteel's tracking averaged 133,833 tonnes/day over February 10-16, as against the 84,764 t/d for the prior week's average.
Higher spot sales saw domestic steel market sentiment recover moderately during the week, and as of February 16, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, a barometer of the country's steel market sentiment, had firmed by Yuan 8/tonne ($1.2/t) on week to Yuan 4,269/t including the 13% VAT, according to Mysteel's assessment.
Meanwhile, rebar inventories held by the 137 surveyed producers had mounted by 4.2% or 142,800 tonnes on week to 3.5 million tonnes as of February 15, while the tonnage at commercial warehouses in the 35 Chinese cities Mysteel checks had increased by 3.1% or 273,000 tonnes on week to 9.1 million tonnes as of February 16, both registering a slower pace of stocks accumulation.
Source:Mysteel Global
