Posted on 25 Apr 2023
Production of rebar across China rose by 1.6% on-year during the first quarter of this year to total 57.2 million tonnes, new data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed. The on-year rise in Q1 was against the 4.7% on-year fall during the prior two months, Mysteel Global notes.
During last month, many domestic mills ramped up rebar output in anticipation of a demand recovery as the weather was becoming warmer and construction activity was picking up in spring, sources commented.
China churned out 23.3 million tonnes of rebar in March, climbing by 12.1% on year and accounting for 18.3% of the total finished steel output of 127.2 million tonnes last month, the NBS statistics show.
Over January-March, China's total finished steel production reached 332.6 million tonnes, higher by 5.8% on year, the NBS data indicated.
China's physical steel market saw rebar prices fluctuate during March, largely because demand from end-users recovered at a slower pace than market participants had expected. For example, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar dropped by Yuan 15/tonne ($2.2/t) from the end of February to reach Yuan 4,292/t including the 13% VAT as of March 31, according to Mysteel's assessment.
Concerning steelmaking costs, Mysteel SEADEX 62% Australian Fines iron ore index gained by $1.5/dmt on month to $127/dmt CFR Qingdao on average during last month.
The daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 Chinese steel trading houses under Mysteel's tracking averaged 172,029 tonnes/day in March, higher by 37,606 t/d or 28% on month.
However, market watchers noted that the volume was still below the threshold of 200,000 t/d considered normal for March, usually a strong steel consumption month in China.
NBS's release showed that during Q1, China's fixed asset investment gained by 5.1% on year to reach Yuan 10.7 trillion, as reported. Within this, funding in the property sector was 5.8% lower on year at Yuan 2.6 trillion, while that for infrastructure construction rose by 8.8% on year.
Source:Mysteel Global
