Below is the brief near-term outlook of the five key steel products Mysteel shares on a weekly basis, drawing upon the results of related surveys and communication with market participants.
Rebar & wire rod: The prices of construction steel may ease further in the January 4-8, as end-users will probably act cautiously, procuring only to fulfill immediate needs.
Hot-rolled coil: The HRC prices are forecast to strengthen in the week ending January 8, mainly on the support of lower output on winter restriction and remaining sound demand from overseas markets, despite that HRC stocks in the commercial warehouses in China’s 55 cities reversed up by 8.1% on week by December 31 after 11 weeks of declines previously.
Cold-rolled coil: The price is likely to spiral up in the first week of January, as traders are reluctant to sell off their stocks at prices below their purchasing costs.
Medium plate: The prices are expected to hover high over January 4-8, mainly underpinned by the limited output with more maintenance works and the arrival of higher-priced cargoes to the traders from the producers.
Sections: The prices are forecast to grow in the first week of January, mainly on the support of limited growth on supply with the frequent winter restrictions in Tangshan, the core production base in North China, higher costs of billet and the arrival of higher-priced cargoes to the traders from the producers. The price of the Q235 150mm square billet in Tangshan declined by $7.7/tonne to $583/t on week on December 31, in terms of EXW prices including the 13% VAT.
Written by Yi Xia, xiayi@mysteel.com
This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
Photo: Wall Street Journal
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