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 two long steel products may be narrowly range-bound over 1-3 April, considering steady production among steel mills, stable demand from end-users, and a sustained fall in their inventories. However, market sentiment may appear bearish, and many traders are inclined to sell off their stocks at hand.
This week has fewer working days as China’s Qingming Festival falls on 4-6 April this year, Mysteel Global noted.
Hot-rolled coil: This price is likely to soften over 1-3 April, as end-users are expected to be hesitant in stocking up hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prefer to stand on the sidelines. Meanwhile, HRC stocks have been hovering high on high output and low demand.
As of 28 March, HRC inventories at commercial warehouses in 33 cities Mysteel tracks reversed up by 18,500 tonnes (t) on week to 3.4 million tonnes (mnt).
Cold-rolled coil: This price may decrease over 1-3 April against the backdrop of high production and weak demand. As for production, output among the 29 mills Mysteel samples nationwide may remain around 850,000 t this week, while end-users will take a wait-and-see stance towards procurement.
Medium plate: This price is estimated to fluctuate slightly over 1-3 April. A North China-based source said this price would source less support from raw materials costs while citing the lack of confidence among market participants.
Sections: The sections’ prices will persist at low levels over 1-3 April, with the output of sections likely staying high, while demand may hardly improve in the near term given the sluggish property market and slow growth in infrastructure construction. Spot trading is unstable at present, which cannot give a boost to section steel prices either, sources shared.
Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between MySteel Global and BigMint.