Posted on 31 May 2022
Rebar production among the 137 Chinese steel mills under Mysteel's monitoring decreased for the second week during May 19-25 to refresh its 2.5-month low of 2.94 million tonnes, according to Mysteel's weekly survey. The volume fell but by just 0.4% or 11,500 tonnes on week, as the decline in long steel output was limited due to the relatively low level that output had already reached, survey respondents said.
Also, compared with rebar output during the corresponding period last year of 3.71 million tonnes, production during the survey period fell significantly by 20.8%, according to Mysteel's data.
Over the survey period, rebar rolling capacity utilization among the surveyed producers slipped 0.3 percentage point on week to 64.5%, while the operational rate among the rolling mills slid by 0.7 percentage points to 52.8%, Mysteel's related surveys showed.
Chinese steel prices remained on a downswing last week, sources said, as sullen sentiment prevailed in the domestic market. As of May 27, the national HRB400E 20mm dia rebar price under Mysteel's assessment had slumped for the third straight week by another Yuan 84/tonne ($12.6/t) on week to reach Yuan 4,765/t and including the 13% VAT,
The daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among 237 domestic steel traders under Mysteel's tracking lost 7,221 tonnes/day or 4.6% on week to an average of 149,266 t/d over May 23-27, a whopping 24% lower on year.
Rebar stocks at the Chinese steel mills and among the traders under Mysteel's tracking diverged during the survey week, as the volume at the former increased for the fifth consecutive week by 1.2% or 42,300 tonnes to 3.7 million tonnes by May 25, a high since late April 2021.
In contrast, the tonnage at the commercial warehouses in the 35 cities Mysteel checks nationwide thinned for a third week, down 2.2% or 184,100 tonnes to 8.2 million tonnes by May 26, a three-month low.
Source:Mysteel Global
