Below is the brief near-term outlook for the 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: The prices of these longs may grow over August 1-5, as both low supply from mills and low stocks at commercial warehouses lent some support to the prices. As of July 28, rebar stocks at 429 warehouses in 132 Chinese cities under Mysteel’s tracking slumped by 5.9% on week to 9.4 million tonnes.
Hot-rolled coil: This price may climb in the week ending August 5, as end-users have become more active in buying on improved sentiment. By July 28, HRC stocks at 194 warehouses in 55 Chinese cities under Mysteel’s tracking eased by 0.6% on week to 4.2 million tonnes.
Cold-rolled coil: The price may be narrowly range-bound this week, as demand from end-users has been recovering, but stocks at warehouses still hovered high.
Medium plate: The price is likely to slip over August 1-5, as demand from end-users has been lackluster, while traders are willing to sell off stocks to reduce risks. By July 28, plate stocks at 217 warehouses in 65 Chinese cities under Mysteel’s tracking stood at 2.2 million tonnes, despite an on-week decline of 18,900 tonnes.
Sections: The prices are expected to soften this week, as supply still exceeded demand. As of July 31, the Q235 150mm square billet price in North China’s Tangshan increased by Yuan 210/tonne ($31.1/t) on week to Yuan 3,760/t EXW and including the 13% VAT, according to Mysteel’s assessment.
Written by Villanelle Xia, xiayi@mysteel.com
Edited by Zhenqi Yang, yangzhenqi@mysteel.com
This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
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