Posted on 06 Jan 2026
Billet prices in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province dropped slightly again last week. On January 4, the first day back at work after China's New Year's Day holiday over January 1-3, Mysteel assessed the price of Q235 150mm square billet in the city at Yuan 2,930/tonne ($420/t) EXW including the 13% VAT, lower by Yuan 10/t on week.
On the supply side, the volume of billet sold or exported by the 21 steelmakers in Tangshan and the surrounding area regularly sampled by Mysteel remained largely steady on week, averaging 35,000 tonnes/day over December 26-31, nudging up by 0.3% on week.
As for billet demand, local re-rollers returned their production to normal levels after government-mandated production curbs for smog control were removed, Mysteel data show, prompting a lift in billet consumption.
Re-rollers in Tangshan had been required by local authorities to cut production from December 14-20 in response to worsened atmospheric pollution conditions, as reported.
Over December 25-31, daily billet consumption among the 34 re-rollers under Mysteel's tracking rose by 30.8% or 9,400 t/d on week to 39,900 t/d on average.
But spot trading volume for billet-rolled finished steel products remained subdued for re-rollers during the survey week, which led most to hold off on new billet purchases, and opt instead to consume existing inventory for production, Mysteel weekly report pointed out.
Consequently, retail inventories continued to accumulate over the week, while billet held by re-rollers continued declining on week.
As of December 31, billet stocks stored in the four commercial warehouses and two ports in Tangshan that Mysteel tracks had mounted by 7% or 90,800 tonnes on week to 1.39 million tonnes.
Also as of December 31, billet inventories held by the surveyed re-rollers had retreated by 6.4% or by 42,000 tonnes on week to 612,000 tonnes.
Billet prices are likely to stay rangebound this week, Mysteel's report predicts. Billet supply in the domestic market is expected to rise due to the inverted price spread between export and domestic markets. This would place market fundamentals under pressure as billet demand is forecast to keep largely steady this week.
Source:Mysteel
