Posted on 14 Apr 2025
China's demand for construction steel is expected to recover continuously during the traditional peak season for steel consumption in April, while the pace may be slower than the market has expected considering the risk aversion across various asset markets amid the ongoing tariff war between the world's two largest economies, according to Mysteel's latest monthly survey released on April 10.
The prediction was chiefly based on actual volumes of construction steel bought by domestic end-users in March and their purchase plans for this month.
Mysteel's regular tracking of over 200 construction enterprises in China showed that they purchased a total of 5.14 million tonnes of construction steel products in March, up 23.6% from the tonnage bought in February.
Despite the seasonal rise, the actual procurement volume last month was 8.4% lower than the planned amount, as the persistent weakness in domestic steel prices constrained buying appetite among end-users.
For this month, their planned buying volume is estimated at 5.91 million tonnes, indicating a growth of 15% compared to the actual procurement volume in March, the survey results showed.
April is still the traditional peak season for construction steel consumption in China thanks to the pleasant weather across most regions of the country, and downstream demand is likely to recover further with the improvement of project funding.
For the first ten days of this month, the daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses nationwide under Mysteel's regular tracking averaged 120,374 tonnes/day, higher by 12,636 t/d or 11.7% from the average for March.
However, the increase in demand may be limited, as most downstream steel users are cautious about restocking, except buying some products to fulfil their immediate needs amid the rising market volatility.
The U.S. President Donald Trump has kept adding tariffs on imported Chinese goods lately, with the cumulative tariff rate being hiked to as high as 145% on Thursday. In response, China has also taken countermeasures to protect its legitimate rights and interests, raising its levies on U.S. goods to 125% on Friday. These trading tensions have heightened the uncertainty in the Chinese steel market, causing swings in steel prices, Mysteel Global learned.
China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, a bellwether of domestic steel-market sentiment, was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,297/tonne ($450/t) including the 13% VAT as of April 10, slipping by Yuan 42/t from the end of March.
Source:Mysteel Global
