China's rebar price dips further, sales rebound

On June 8, China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar dropped for the second working day by another Yuan 6/tonne ($0.9/t) to Yuan 4,835/t including the 13% VAT, while spot sales of construction steel including rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among China's 237 trading houses reversed from a two-day decline, up 36,781 tonnes/day or 29% on day to 163,725 t/d, both according to Mysteel's assessment.

Steel demand from both traders and end-users remained weak, as heavy rainfalls in southern China are continuously impeding steel shipments, and those construction sites near the exam venues nationwide are still halting their operations to create a quiet environment for test takers amid the ongoing Chinese annual college entrance exam that will run till Friday, both of which had softened domestic steel prices, market sources shared.

On the other hand, Chinese steel mills were seen actively selling their products to reduce stocks at yards, leading spot transactions to improve somewhat, Mysteel Global noted.

In the futures market, Chinese rebar futures prices strengthened again after a one-day decline, with the most-traded October rebar contract on Shanghai Futures Exchange closing the daytime session of June 8 at Yuan 4,795/t, up Yuan 46/t or 1% from the settlement price on June 7.

As for the semis, the price of Q235 150mm square billet in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province, increased after standing unchanged for two days, up Yuan 20/t or 0.4% from June 7 to reach Yuan 4,520/t EXW and including the 13% VAT on Wednesday.

Written by Anthea Shi, shihui@mysteel.com

This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.