Posted on 28 May 2024
China's prices of major steel products maintained the uptrend overall over May 20-24, mainly thanks to the positive sentiment in the domestic market and the better performance in the ferrous futures market, Mysteel Global learned.
Rebar: Last Friday, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel's assessment came in at Yuan 3,890/tonne ($537/t) including the 13% VAT, higher by Yuan 41/t from one week before.
Rebar prices in the derivative market remained firm last week, with the most-traded rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for delivery in October closing the daytime trading session at Yuan 3,788/t on May 24, up by Yuan 78/t from the settlement price on May 17. In the international derivative market, SGX Mysteel Shanghai rebar futures closed at $516/t last Friday for the most-active July contract.
Transactions for construction steel in the physical market decreased slightly in the past week, as demand in southern China had been dampened by the rainfalls. Over May 20-24, daily trading volume of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses under Mysteel's regular survey averaged 139,343 tonnes/day, edging down 655 t/d on week.
Billet: As of May 24, the price of Tangshan Q235 150mm square billet in North China's Hebei province was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,560/t EXW and including the 13% VAT, growing by Yuan 60/t from one week earlier with the positive sentiment prevailing in the domestic steel market.
HRC: China's average price of Q235 4.75mm hot-rolled coil (HRC) nationwide under Mysteel's assessment also moved higher to Yuan 3,867/t including the 13% VAT as of May 24, rising by Yuan 27/t on week.
HRC inventories at the commercial warehouses emptied continuously due to the limited products delivered to the warehouses. As of May 23, total tonnage of HRC stocks at the commercial warehouses in the 55 Chinese cities under Mysteel's tracking registered 4.43 million tonnes, down for the third week by 0.9% from the previous week.
Source:Mysteel Global
