Posted on 21 Aug 2024
China's domestic spot rebar prices snapped a two-week streak of declines on August 19, and spot sales of construction steel including rebar on the same day also witnessed a marked recovery, indicating signs of stabilizing in the near-term market sentiment.
Mysteel's assessment of the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar edged up by Yuan 3/tonne ($0.4/t) from last Friday to Yuan 3,208/t and including the 13% VAT on Monday, and the spot trading volume of construction steel also comprising wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 Chinese traders that Mysteel tracks leapt by 36.4% or 33,729 tonnes/day during the same period to reach 126,338 t/d.
The improved sentiment in the domestic steel market was also reflected in the performance of major steel futures in China. For example, the most-traded October rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased by Yuan 44/t from Friday's settlement price to close the daytime trading session at Yuan 3,156/t on Monday.
Likewise, the Q235 150mm square billet price in North China's Tangshan moved up by Yuan 10/t from Sunday to Yuan 2,860/t including the 13% VAT on Monday, according to Mysteel's assessment. The rise was mainly driven by the strengthening of rebar futures as billet demand from re-rollers remained largely weak due to their tepid sales of finished steel, sources said.
As for key steelmaking raw materials, Mysteel SEADEX 62% Australian Fines also ended a five-day fall and gained $2.55/dmt from Friday to $94.3/dmt CFR Qingdao on Monday.
Source:Mysteel Global
