Mysteel Global: Below is the brief near-term outlook for 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: Prices of these two long steel products are likely to tick up during the week to July 4, mainly supported by rising raw material costs and easing market pessimism. Output may see a slight increase in the coming week, while demand is expected to remain weak, a mismatch that could further slow the pace of inventory depletion among traders, though the overall supply-demand gap is likely to stay limited.
Hot-rolled coil: HRC prices are forecast to continue the downward trend through July 4, as some steelmakers plan to ramp up production while actual end-user demand for the flat steel stays subdued and speculative activity remains low, indicating still weak fundamentals for HRC.
HRC output among the 37 steelmakers Mysteel tracks across China increased for a second week last week, rising by 0.6% or 17,900 tonnes on week to reach 3.27 million tonnes during June 19-25.
Cold-rolled coil: CRC prices are expected to remain narrowly volatile in the week ending July 4. Output among the 29 steel mills tracked by Mysteel is likely to hold within the range of 870,000-880,000 tonnes this week, as their capacity utilization hovers at a rather high level. Meanwhile, end-user buying remains cautious amid the seasonal lull in demand.
Medium plate: Prices of medium plates may fluctuate marginally during June 30-July 4. According to a market source in northern China, local retail inventories continued to decline last week, as traders showed little interest in restocking amid sluggish demand.
Stocks of medium plates held by traders in 31 cities Mysteel monitors nationwide thinned by a tiny 0.1% or 700 tonnes on week to 964,800 tonnes as of June 26.
Sections: Section prices are likely to trend slightly lower this week, weighed down by weak demand and muted speculative trading. Market sentiment remains cautious. Output may decline modestly, as some mills have begun scaling back production.
Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between MySteel Global and BigMint.
Leave a Reply