Posted on 14 May 2025
Growth in China's construction steel demand is expected to slow further in May, mainly due to low expectations for policy support and the coming rainy season in some regions of the country, according to Mysteel's latest monthly survey.
The prediction is based on actual volumes of construction steel products bought by domestic end-users in April 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 5.66 million tonnes of construction steel products last month, rising by 10.1% on month, but the volume was 4.2% lower than their planned amount.
For this month, their planned buying volume is estimated at 6.05 million tonnes, representing a 6.9% increase from April's actual purchases, the survey results showed.
Infrastructure investment growth is likely to pick up further this month with the accelerated issuance of special-purpose bonds and the concentrated launch of major projects, which may provide some support to demand for construction steel.
However, overall demand growth is likely to be limited in May due to the trading lull during the country's Labour Day holiday over May 1-5. Meanwhile, consumption of construction steel in southern China will likely be dampened with the coming rainy season, Mysteel Global learned.
Over May 6-12, 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 registered 109,248 tonnes/day on average, down by 6,429 t/d or 5.6% from the average for April.
China's finished steel prices have been hovering low so far this month, despite an improvement in market sentiment following China and the United States' temporary tariff reductions announced on Monday aimed at easing trade tensions, as reported.
As of May 12, China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, a bellwether of domestic steel-market sentiment, was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,317/tonne ($461/t) including the 13% VAT, still lower by Yuan 34/t from the end of April despite a daily rebound of Yuan 15/t.
Source:Mysteel Global
