Below is the brief near-term outlook for 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: Prices of these longs may be narrowly-rangebound over March 27-31, as many traders have tendency to firm their sales prices, given the meagre profits they could currently earn.
Rebar stocks at the warehouses have declined for the fifth week, with the stockpiles at the 429 warehouses in 132 Chinese cities under Mysteel’s tracking standing at 12 million tonnes as of March 23, down by 2.7% on week.
Hot-rolled coil: This price may slip in the week ending March 31, as most end-users have procured only to meet their immediate production needs, while the domestic market has seen growing output from steelmakers.
The HRC production at the 37 steelmakers across China under Mysteel’s tracking gained for the second week by another 1.2% on week to 3.1 million tonnes as of March 22.
Cold-rolled coil: The price may ease this week, as most end-users have procured just to meet immediate demand, while many traders have been willing to sell off some stocks even at lower prices to maintain sufficient cashflows.
Medium plate: The price may decline modestly this week due to the fact that many traders have been prepared to compromise on prices to mitigate risks.
Higher plate output among steelmakers has also weighed on the prices. As of March 22, plate output at 37 Chinese steelmakers gained by 1.8% on week to 1.5 million tonnes, according to Mysteel’s tracking.
Sections: Prices may gain over March 27-31, as many traders are likely to firm their offering prices, given the negative profits they are suffering. Besides, demand from end-users is likely to grow in the coming days.
Written by Villanelle Xia, xiayi@mysteel.com
Edited by Alyssa Ren, rentingting@mysteel.com
Note: This article has been published in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
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