Posted on 10 Aug 2022
Rebar production among 137 Chinese steel mills under Mysteel's tracking had increased for the second week over July 28-August 3, up by a larger 5.7% or 132,200 tonnes on week to 2.46 million tonnes in total, as improved margins had boosted some steelmakers' enthusiasm in ramping up output.
Over the survey period, both rebar rolling capacity utilization and operational rates among the surveyed producers moved up, with the former gaining for the second week by 2.9 percentage points to 53.8%, and the latter reversing up by 2.3 percentage points to 43.9%.
Mysteel's survey also showed that steel mills in all other regions except Southwest China posted on-week gains in their rebar output, and those in East China's Jiangsu and North China's Shanxi saw the most significant inclines in rebar production.
As of August 8, China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, an indicator of the country's steel-market sentiment, had recovered from two days of drops, up Yuan 46/tonne ($6.8/t) on day to Yuan 4,312/t including the 13% VAT. And on a weekly basis, the price also nudged up by Yuan 12/t on week.
The strengthening in spot rebar prices was mainly driven by rebar futures prices, sources said.
For example, the most-traded rebar October contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed at Yuan 4,136/t when the daytime trading session ended on August 8, up Yuan 72/t from the settlement price on August 2.
Despite higher output, rebar inventories at Chinese steel mills and among trading houses under Mysteel's tracking declined further last week.
By August 3, the total volume at the surveyed mills had slipped for the sixth consecutive week by another 11.3% on week to 2.2 million tonnes, and the tonnage at commercial warehouses in 35 Chinese cities had decreased for the seventh week as of August 4, down by 6.1% on week to approximately 6 million tonnes, both of which hit their six-month lows.
Source:Mysteel Global
