Below is the brief near-term outlook for the five key steel products Mysteel shares on a weekly basis, drawing upon the results of related surveys and communication with Chinese market participants.
Rebar & wire rod: The prices of these longs may be narrowly range-bound over July 4-8, as demand has shown signs of improvement, though it may remain lackluster in general during the traditional low season for steel consumption.
Besides, market sentiment has been improving with lower supply from mills and better demand from end-users. As of June 29, rebar output at the 137 steelmakers under Mysteel’s survey had slumped by 6.3% on week to hit a four-month low of 2.7 million tonnes.
Hot-rolled coil: This price may decline in the week ending July 8, as some mills have tendency of compromising prices to facilitate sales, given their high stocks at hand. As of June 29, HRC stocks at the 37 steelmakers under Mysteel’s tracking had gained by 1.1% on week to 921,600 tonnes.
Cold-rolled coil: The price may soften this week, as end-users have been in the period for low steel use. Besides, most traders have been willing to sell off some stocks at lower prices on bearish sentiment.
Medium plate: The price is likely to fall over July 4-8, as some traders have been willing to offload some volumes at lower prices to reduce potential risks.
Sections: The prices are expected to slip this week, due to mounting stocks at traders. As of July 3, the Q235 150mm square billet price in North China’s Tangshan had edged down by Yuan 20/tonne ($3/t) on week to Yuan 3,940/t EXW and including the 13% VAT, according to Mysteel’s assessment.
Written by Villanelle Xia, xiayi@mysteel.com
This article has been published in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel and SteelMint.
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