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 slip over June 20-24, as demand from end-users has been sluggish amid high summer temperatures and heavy rainfalls in some regions across China. Besides, the market has entered the traditionally slack steel consumption season.
Meanwhile, rebar stocks at 429 warehouses in 132 Chinese cities under Mysteel’s survey increased by 1.8% on week to 12.4 million tonnes as of June 16.
Hot-rolled coil: This price may decline in the week ending June 24, as some mills opted to sell off some stocks at lower prices to maintain sufficient cash flows. As of June 16, HRC stocks at 194 warehouses in 55 Chinese cities under Mysteel’s tracking gained by 1.9% on week to 4.1 million tonnes.
Cold-rolled coil: The price may soften this week, as most traders were willing to offload some volume to lower the risks, while most end-users procured only to fulfill their immediate demand with few orders at hand.
Medium plate: The price is likely to fall over June 20-24, as trading activities in the spot market were lackluster amid higher supply from mills. Besides, most market participants held a pessimistic stance on prices in the near term.
Section: This price is expected to drop this week, as most traders chose to sell off some stocks at lower prices amid bearish sentiment. As of June 19, the Q235 150mm square billet price in North China’s Tangshan slumped by a hefty Yuan 400/tonne ($59.6/t) on week to Yuan 4,080/t EXW and including the 13% VAT.
Written by Villanelle Xia, xiayi@mysteel.com
Note: This article has been published in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
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