Below is the brief near-term outlook of five major carbon steel products Mysteel shares on a weekly basis, drawing upon the results of related surveys and communication with the Chinese market participants.
Rebar & wire rod: The prices of these longs may strengthen over August 23-27, as demand is likely to pick up ahead of September-October, a traditional peak season for domestic steel consumption.
Downward pressure from the finished steel stocks is easing too, as by August 19, rebar inventories in the commercial warehouses of China’s 132 cities under Mysteel’s tracking, for example, declined for the third week, down 1.1% on week to 11.5 million tonnes, and rebar stocks at China’s 184 steel mills remained unchanged on week at 3.4 million tonnes as of August 18.
Hot-rolled coil: This price may be narrowly rangebound in the week ending August 27, as some end-users are expected to replenish some stocks, which may help relieve the pressure from the rising stocks, as by August 19, HRC stocks in the commercial warehouses of China’s 55 cities increased for the second week, though up just 1% on week to 4.25 million tonnes.
Cold-rolled coil: The price is likely to soften in the week to August 27, as most end-users have taken on a cautious stance of buying, and it may take some time for automakers, for instance, to resume normal pace of production, as the shortage of the semi-conductors is still acting as a hassle not only to the Chinese automakers but overseas too such as Toyota, as reported.
Medium plate: The price may grow over August 23-27, mainly underpinned by limited output and strengthening demand from end-users now that the price has shown signs of stabilizing.
Sections: The price is expected to hover at the present price level in the week ending August 27 with limited positive news, as most end-users may stay on the sidelines with steel futures prices softening, and by August 22, the price of the Q235 150mm square billet in Tangshan, North China’s Hebei province, declined after one week of recovery, down Yuan 180/tonne ($27.7/t) on week to Yuan 4,910/t EXW including the 13% VAT.
Written by Villanelle Xia, xiayi@mysteel.com
This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
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