Posted on 15 Nov 2022
Rebar production among the 137 Chinese steel producers regularly tracked by Mysteel decreased for the second week last week, falling by 0.7% or 20,900 tonnes on week to reach 2.96 million tonnes during November 3-9, according to the weekly survey.
The on-week decline in rebar output was largely due to the lower production from steel mills in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan provinces in North, Northwest and Central China, as they trimmed their output due to long-term losses, survey respondents said.
Over the period, both rebar rolling capacity utilization and the operational rate among the surveyed producers dropped further, with the former dipping by 0.5 percentage point on week to 65%, and the latter nudging down by 0.3 percentage point on week to 48.2%, Mysteel's surveys showed.
Chinese finished steel prices witnessed an upward correction last week driven by the strengthening futures prices. As of November 11, for example, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel's assessment had reversed up by Yuan 14/tonne ($2/t) on week to Yuan 3,922/t and including the 13% VAT.
Despite the modest improvement in speculative buying among traders, the daily trading volume of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 Chinese steel trading houses under Mysteel's tracking slid by 1.2% or 2,056 tonnes/day to average 167,306 t/d over November 7-11.
On the other hand, rebar inventories at the 137 steel mills Mysteel checks thinned for the third straight week, down by 4.8% or 90,800 tonnes on week at 1.8 million tonnes as of November 9.
Meanwhile, the volume at commercial warehouses in the 35 Chinese cities Mysteel monitors eased for the fifth week, falling by 4.3% or 171,000 tonnes on week to reach 3.8 million tonnes as of November 10.
Source:Mysteel Global
