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 the Chinese market participants.
- Rebar & wire rod: The prices of these longs may strengthen over October 18-22, as construction sites in East and South China may be replenishing some quantities on limited availability at the sites.
On the other hand, the declines in rebar stocks at the commercial warehouses of China’s 132 cities under Mysteel’s tracking may also lend support to the price, as the volume had reversed from just one week of growth, down 7% on week to 9.05 million tonnes as of October 14.
- Hot-rolled coil: This price may be rangebound in the week ending October 22, as most end-users have the tendency to procure only for immediate needs with limited bookings on hand, while as of October 14, HRC stocks in the commercial warehouses of China’s 55 cities under Mysteel’s survey ebbed from a one-week increase, down 3.5% on week to 3.93 million tonnes.
- Cold-rolled coil: The price may lose some steam in the week to October 22, as most traders appear subdued in buying with narrowing profit margins on remaining high list prices by the producers, and CRC stocks at the commercial warehouses of China’s 29 cities under Mysteel’s tracking still hovered at a 16-month high, totaling 1.94 million tonnes as of October 14.
- Medium plate: The price is likely to decline modestly over October 18-22, as demand from end-users has been lower than expected while the supply has been increasing. As of October 14, output at 37 mills increased for the second week by 1.9% on week to 1.3 million tonnes.
- Sections: The price is expected to move up in the week ending October 22, as most mills have shown the inclination to raise their ex-works prices on high production costs while limited supply.
Uncertainties remain, however, as the Q235 150mm square billet price in North China’s Tangshan under Mysteel’s assessment slumped by Yuan 130/tonne ($20/t) on week to Yuan 5,200/t EXW including the VAT as of October 17.
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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