Posted on 23 Jan 2026
China's total output of reinforcing bars for the whole 2025 retreated by 4.3% on year to 186.31 million tonnes, according to the latest release from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on January 22.
The on-year decline of cumulative rebar production widened by 1.1 percentage points from 3.2% in the first eleven months last year, mainly due to the significant on-year drop of 15.6% recorded in December alone, data in the same release indicated.
The monthly rebar output registered 13.56 million tonnes last month, also logging a 1.4% on-month drop from November, Mysteel Global calculated based on the NBS data.
Findings from Mysteel's survey were in line with the NBS numbers, with the rebar rolling capacity utilization rate among the surveyed steel mills last month averaging 40.4%, down by 4.7 percentage points from November's level.
Mysteel's weekly survey on rebar production showed a large production decline in the first half of December, most likely because some steelmakers halted operation of their steelmaking facilities for year-end maintenance.
The operational rate of those steel mills averaged 38.2% in December, also declining by 3.9 percentage points from November, findings in the same Mysteel's survey showed.
However, output rebounded in the second half of the month as mill profit margins on rebar sales improved, buoying the mills' production enthusiasm, Mysteel Global noted.
On December 31, Mysteel assessed the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar at Yuan 3,324/t, higher by Yuan 33/t compared to the price on November 28.
Blast furnace mills under Mysteel's tracking saw their losses when selling rebars narrow from Yuan 143.17/tonne ($20.6/t) on average in November to Yuan 48.66/t in December. Similarly, China's electric arc furnace mills saw their profit margins on rebar sales increase by Yuan 33/t on month to reach Yuan 107/t in late-December, according to Mysteel's assessment.
In contrast to the retreat in rebar output, China's total finished steel production gained by 3.1% on year to 1.45 billion tonnes last year. But for December alone, the country's finished steel output slipped by 3.8% on year to 115.3 million tonnes, according to the NBS data.
Source:Mysteel Global
