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 the Chinese market participants.
Rebar & wire rod: The prices of these longs may be narrowly range-bound over December 13-17, as demand from end-users especially from South China may stay firm, while supply this week will probably remain little changed on the week.
On the other hand, downward pressure from stocks at the traders may stay low, as, by December 9, rebar stocks at the commercial warehouses in China’s 132 cities under Mysteel’s tracking had declined for the ninth week by another 5.3% to 5.7 million tonnes.
Hot-rolled coil: The steel price may soften in the week ending December 17, as most end-users may stay inactive in buying, and traders may move to the sidelines too, as HRC stocks at the commercial warehouses in China’s 55 cities under Mysteel’s survey reversed from eight weeks of declines as of December 9, though the weekly incline was only at 0.5% to 3.1 million tonnes.
Cold-rolled coil: The price may decline modestly this week, as demand from end-users has been sluggish, and traders may be keen to lighten their stocks to minimize pricing risks, and CRC stocks at the commercial warehouses in China’s 29 cities under Mysteel’s tracking, thus, declined for the seventh week as of December 9, though down merely 1,700 tonnes on the week to 1.86 million tonnes on sullen demand.
Medium plate: The price is likely to soften over December 13-17, as spot trading may remain lukewarm, while output may grow on higher profit margins, and as of December 8, plate output at China’s 37 steelmakers under Mysteel’s tracking went up for the fourth week by 3.7% to 1.3 million tonnes.
Sections: The price is expected to lose some ground in the week ending December 17, as market pessimism expanded among the traders, noting that demand had not picked up despite the news on loosening control over bank loan issuance, and the price of the Q235 150mm square billet in Tangshan, North China’s Hebei, ebbed from three weeks of rises by December 12, or down Yuan 10/tonne ($1.6/t) on week to Yuan 4,310/t EXW including the VAT, according to Mysteel’s assessment.
~Written by Villanelle Xia, xiayi@mysteel.com
~This article is published under the article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
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