Posted on 22 May 2025
Shagang Group (Shagang), China's leading privately-owned steelmaker headquartered in Zhangjiagang in East China's Jiangsu province, announced on May 21 that it will keep the list prices of its major long steel products including rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil unchanged for sales from May 21 to 31.
The company, which updates its long steel prices every ten days, is regarded as a bellwether for the Chinese long steel market, particularly in East China. This latest decision marks the third consecutive pricing cycle in which Shagang has opted to roll over its prices, Mysteel Global noted.
Consequently, Shagang's HRB400 16-20mm dia rebar is still priced at Yuan 3,300/tonne ($458/t), HPB300 6-10mm high-speed wire rod price at Yuan 3,320/t, and HRB400 8-10mm bar-in-coil price at Yuan 3,410/t, all in terms of EXW and including the VAT, according to the company release.
The company's decision to hold prices reflects a cautious stance amid a subdued short-term demand outlook. Rising temperatures are expected to gradually curb construction activity, while recent spot and futures market fluctuations have reinforced this conservative approach.
The spot trading volume of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses across China under Mysteel's survey averaged 107,014 tonnes/day in mid-May, up 4.2% from the previous ten days, though lower by a significant 21.3% than the same period last year.
Earlier in May, China's spot rebar prices briefly rose on improving sentiment following easing China-U.S. trade tensions. However, the rally was short-lived as weak end-user demand led to a subsequent price decline.
As of May 20, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,302/t including the 13% VAT, remaining unchanged from the price on May 9.
"The data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday failed to boost market confidence, as the property sector shows no signs of sustainable recovery," a Shanghai-based steel analyst commented.
According to the NBS data, property investment in China dropped 10.3% year on year to Yuan 2.77 trillion in the first four months of 2025, while the total area of newly-launched property projects plunged 23.8% to 178.4 million square meters over the same period.
Source:Mysteel Global
