Posted on 14 Nov 2025
China's construction steel demand is expected to sustain resilience in November - though it is a typical off-season for steel consumption in the country - mainly as some contractors may accelerate project timelines before freezing cold winter halts outdoor operations, according to Mysteel's latest monthly survey.
The prediction is based on the actual volumes of construction steel products bought by domestic end-users in October and their purchase plans for these products this month.
Mysteel's regular tracking of over 200 domestic construction enterprises showed that they purchased a total of 6.11 million tonnes of construction steel products in October, rising by a tiny 0.2% from the prior month.
For this month, the building contractors plan to purchase 6.12 million tonnes, slightly more than their actual purchases in October, the survey findings showed, suggesting the resilience in demand from end-users.
However, their actual buying volumes may fall slightly short of the schedule, as construction steel demand is expected to contract in northern regions of China, where colder winter weather will hinder construction work at ongoing projects and new project starts are few, according to the survey.
China's real estate sector remains relatively sluggish, with the consumption of construction steel in this sector accounting for less than 30% of the total. Meanwhile, domestic construction enterprises still face significant financial pressure, and many of them are cautious about steel restocking, as they would like to purchase based on their immediate needs, the survey results showed.
Transactions for construction steel items in the physical market have shown signs of slowdown. During November 1-12, the daily trading volume of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses nationwide under Mysteel's regular tracking averaged 96,556 tonnes/day, slightly lower than the average of 101,282 t/d for October.
China's finished steel prices have been hovering at low levels so far this month due to weak fundamentals. As of November 12, Mysteel assessed the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar at Yuan 3,232/tonne ($455/t) including the 13% VAT, falling by Yuan 28/t from the end of October.
Source:Mysteel Global
