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 market participants.
Rebar & wire rod: The prices of these long steel products may ease further over January 18-22, as for now end-users have been procuring only to fulfill immediate needs with the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday drawing near, and uncertainties remain in the impact of the pandemic, as China has been stepping up efforts in curtailing the spread of the COVID-19.
Hot-rolled coil: The HRC price may soften further in the week to January 22, as the traders are willing to sell off the products for cash as well as noting the stable output but weakening demand, and few are willing to hold onto the stocks past the CNY holiday. HRC stocks in China’s 55 cities increased by 3.7% on week to 2.97 million tonnes as of January 14.
Cold-rolled coil: The price is likely to decrease in the week to January 22 on growing stocks and weakening demand, and only a few deals were concluded last week.
Medium plate: The price may grow moderately in the third week of January, partly on the support of the remaining high production costs with high raw material prices.
Sections: The price is anticipated to spiral down in the week ending January 22, mainly because of the weakening demand in general, and more end-users have taken on a wait-and-see stance instead of going into the restocking in winter and ahead of the CNY holiday. Besides, the market concern grows as the Chinese steel mills may cut their offering prices in response to sell-offs at lower prices in the next few weeks. The price of the Q235 150mm square billet in Tangshan, North China’s Hebei, had been stable in general, gaining Yuan 10/tonne ($1.5/t) on week to Yuan 3,810/t as of January 17.
Written by Yi Xia, xiayi@mysteel.com
This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
Photo: The Wall Street Journal
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