Posted on 08 Apr 2025
China's rebar market lost its upward momentum on April 3 in both spot and futures markets, as global risk aversion intensified following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping new tariff measures a day earlier. The broad-based tariffs, which target nearly all U.S. trading partners, dampened sentiment across global commodity markets, including China's ferrous sector.
According to Mysteel's assessment, China's national HRB400E 20mm dia rebar price declined by Yuan 4/tonne ($0.6/t) from the previous day to settle at Yuan 3,355/t including 13% VAT on Thursday. April 4, Friday, is a public holiday in China for the country's Qingming Festival, as reported.
Chinese rebar futures tracked the same downward trajectory on the final trading day of last week. The most-traded rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for October 2025 delivery lost Yuan 21/t, or 0.65%, from Wednesday's settlement to close the daytime trading session at Yuan 3,231/t on Thursday.
The skittish sentiment also extended to downstream users, who slowed their procurement of long steel products. On Thursday, daily trading volumes of construction steel – including rebar, wire rod, and bar-in-coil – among the 237 trading houses surveyed by Mysteel fell by 7,236 tonnes/day or 6% to 113,073 tonnes/day.
Market sentiment deteriorated further during the three-day Qingming Festival holiday over April 4-6, as global markets continued to digest the potential impact of the new U.S. tariffs, adding more pressure to China's steel sector, sources noted.
Falling prices in the semi-finished steel segment during the holiday echoed this downbeat tone. Mysteel's assessment showed the Q235 150mm square billet price in Tangshan, Hebei province, dropped by Yuan 20/t from Thursday to Yuan 3,020/t EXW including VAT on Sunday.
Source:Mysteel Global
