Posted on 09 Mar 2023
China's spot sales of major long steel items including rebar gained upward momentum this month as demand from end-users continued growing, sources said. March is usually regarded as a month of robust steel consumption in China, Mysteel Global notes.
Mysteel's survey of daily spot sales of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 steel trading houses it tracks nationwide showed that the trading volume averaged 186,655 tonnes/day over March 1-7, higher by 37,941 t/d or 25.5% on week.
"Currently, both domestic steel demand and supply remain robust, and steel prices seem set to continue strengthening," a Shanghai-based analyst said. Prices are being propelled upward by mills' high production costs, low steel inventories and rising demand, she explained.
As of March 7, the country's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel's assessment had climbed by Yuan 49/tonne ($7/t) from the end of February to reach Yuan 4,356/t including the 13% VAT, refreshing an eight-month high.
On the same day, the spot trading volume of construction steel products at 15 commercial warehouses under Mysteel's survey in Changchun, the capital of Northeast China's Jilin province, had hit 4,425 t/d – higher by a phenomenal 471% on-week and marking the highest daily total since 2020.
"There's been a substantial recovery in progress on Changchun's infrastructure projects, such as its high-speed train project, the first to resume work after the Chinese New Year holiday in early February," remarked a market insider, saying that "their (Changchun's) demand for long steel products has been increasing steadily as a result."
Source:Mysteel Global
