WEEKLY: Near-term outlook on China’s steel products

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 the two long steel products may witness an uptick over May 20-24, mainly due to the improved market sentiment and the support of macroeconomic policies. Many market participants turned bullish on the near-term market outlook.

Hot-rolled coil: This price is likely to gain upward momentum in the week ending May 24, propped up by steel mills’ high production costs and a strong incentive from the policy side.

Cold-rolled coil: This price may ease in the week through May 24, as actual demand from end-users has not shown substantial growth, and many traders indicate their stocks of cold-rolled coil at hand remain high.

Production of cold-rolled coils among the 29 steel mills Mysteel checks nationwide may reach 850,000-860,000 tonnes this week.

Medium plate: This price is forecast to be narrowly volatile over May 20-24. A South China’s Guangdong-based source shares that most traders in the province will actively sell their plates, while end-users’ demand has been relatively weak.

Sections: The sections’ prices may strengthen over May 20-24, with the rising support from raw materials costs, and demand may grow moderately as well due to stimulus measures.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between MySteel Global and BigMint.