Posted on 19 Aug 2025
Billet prices in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province had been rangebound last week, with billet output steady and demand from re-rollers picking up moderately, according to Mysteel's weekly survey.
As of August 17, the Tangshan Q235 150mm square billet price was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,070/tonne ($428/t) EXW and including the 13% VAT, higher by Yuan 10/t from the week before.
Daily billet output among the 22 steel mills in Tangshan that Mysteel tracks averaged 41,000 tonnes/day over August 8-14, unchanged from the previous week. However, respondents expected daily production to edge lower this week as some mills plan blast-furnace maintenance.
On the cost side, the average billet production cost among the ten major Tangshan mills Mysteel monitors rose Yuan 37/t on week to Yuan 2,905/t including the VAT, driven by higher raw material prices. As a result, their average margin on billet sales narrowed by Yuan 47/t on week to Yuan 155/t as of August 15.
On the demand side, daily billet consumption among the 43 Tangshan re-rollers that Mysteel monitors grew 4,200 t/d on week to average 45,400 t/d over August 7-13. Rising utilization rates and better profit margins encouraged re-rollers to step up billet buying, the survey found.
As of August 13, billet stocks held by the surveyed 43 re-rollers had dipped by a small 10,500 tonnes on week to 602,800 tonnes. Meanwhile, the tonnage at the four commercial warehouses and two ports in Tangshan that Mysteel canvasses declined by 32,500 tonnes on week to 1.23 million tonnes by August 14, ending the steady rise since mid-June.
Source:Mysteel Global
