Posted on 21 Aug 2023
Rebar output among 137 Chinese steel mills under Mysteel's tracking had declined for the fourth consecutive week over August 10-16, shedding another 0.7% or 18,700 tonnes on week to refresh a six-month low of 2.64 million tonnes, according to the latest weekly survey. This result was also lower by a small 0.5% than the same period last year.
Behind the decrease in rebar output was the fact that many steelmakers had conducted maintenance stoppages on their steelmaking facilities or had switched from producing rebar to other flat steel products, survey respondents said.
Mysteel's survey result also showed that the decline in rebar output was chiefly concentrated among mills in North China's Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and East China's Shandong.
Over the survey period, rebar rolling capacity utilization among these producers had dipped for the fourth week, down 0.4 percentage point on week to 57.8%, while the operational rate among the rolling mills remained unchanged on week at 45.6%.
Meanwhile, this week saw China's spot rebar prices fall at first and then show signs of stabilizing. For example, as of August 17, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel's assessment inched down by a tiny Yuan 4/tonne ($0.5/t) on week to Yuan 3,766/t including the 13% VAT.
China's physical steel market witnessed a modest pick-up in demand from end-users during the week, as the spot trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among 237 steel trading houses under Mysteel's tracking averaged 158,531 tonnes/day over August 11-17, rising by 16.4% or 22,304 t/d on week.
Contributing to the modest gain in spot sales was the improvement in steel consumption as the impact of heavy rainfalls and floods in northern China had receded and the market sentiment had also lifted, as reported.
On the other hand, lower output and higher spot sales led rebar inventories held by both Chinese mills and traders to decrease, with the tonnage at the 137 surveyed mills reversing from two weeks of rises, thinning by 0.5% or 9,800 tonnes on week to 2.04 million tonnes as of August 16.
Meanwhile, the volume at commercial warehouses in 35 Chinese cities under Mysteel's tracking also ended a seven-week incline, down by 1.4% or 85,500 tonnes on week to 6.02 million tonnes as of August 17.
Source:Mysteel Global
