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 strengthen over February 21-25, as demand from end-users is likely to pick up with the production resumption while supply from steelmakers remains tight.
As of February 16, rebar output among the 137 Chinese steel mills under Mysteel’s survey was at a low level of 2.56 million tonnes despite an on-week growth of 4.9% or 120,000 tonnes.
Hot-rolled coil: This price may slip in the week ending February 25, as HRC supply is seen growing, while demand from end-users has been constrained by the resurgence of COVID-19 cases across China.
Cold-rolled coil: The price may ease this week, as most end-users have stayed on the sidelines of buying amid the bearish sentiment. Besides, the accumulation of CRC stocks at Chinese commercial warehouses has weighed on the prices. As of February 17, CRC stocks at the 182 commercial warehouses in the 29 Chinese cities under Mysteel’s tracking grew 49,700 tonnes on week to 1.89 million tonnes.
Medium plate: The price is likely to grow modestly over February 21-25, as most traders have tendency of firming their offering prices on the anticipation of better demand from end-users.
Section: This price is expected to decline in the week ending February 25, as most traders are willing to sell at lower prices, given their sufficient stocks at hand and healthy profit margins they could enjoy.
As of February 20, the Q235 150mm square billet price in Tangshan, North China’s Hebei province, has slipped by Yuan 30/tonne ($4.7/t) on week to Yuan 4,670/t EXW including the 13% VAT, according to Mysteel’s assessment.
Written by Villanelle Xia, xiayi@mysteel.com
This article has been published under an exchange agreement between MySteel Global and SteelMint.
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