Posted on 20 Sep 2022
Rebar production among the 137 Chinese steelmakers under Mysteel's tracking decreased over September 8-14 after recording gains for seven straight weeks, though only by 0.2% or 5,500 tonnes on week to 3.07 million tonnes, according to the latest weekly survey.
Over the survey period, rebar rolling capacity utilization among the surveyed producers declined too, falling by a tiny 0.1 percentage point on week to 67.3%, while the operational rate among the rolling mills gained for the fifth straight week, rising by 0.3 percentage point on week to average 52.1%, Mysteel's tracking showed.
The decline in weekly rebar output was mainly because electric-arc-furnace mills in Shanxi, Guangxi and Jiangsu in North, Southwest and East China had commenced maintenance stoppages or reined in their output due to prolonged margin losses amid high steel scrap prices, the survey indicated.
Domestic spot steel prices showed signs of softening last week. As of September 16, the national HRB400E 20mm dia rebar price, a bellwether of the country's steel-market sentiment, was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 4,118/tonne ($587/t) including the 13% VAT, lower by Yuan 17/t on week.
Meanwhile, domestic spot sales witnessed a tumble in trading volume last week, largely because the arrival of Typhoon Muifa disrupted steel use and product deliveries in East China, according to survey respondents.
Consequently, the daily trading volume of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 steel trading houses nationwide that Mysteel regularly samples averaged 151,351 tonnes/day over the past week, down 24,237 t/d or 13.8% on week.
On the other hand, the falloff in sales saw rebar inventories at both the 137 steel mills and among the traders Mysteel monitors in 35 cities nationwide mount last week. Total stocks held by the former reversed up 0.9% or 20,200 tonnes on week to top 2.3 million tonnes as of September 14, while inventories held by the latter ended twelve weeks of declines, gaining 3.3% or 159,800 tonnes on week to total some 5 million tonnes as of September 15.
Source:Mysteel Global
