Posted on 10 Mar 2026
Billet prices in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province posted further gains over March 2-8, with Mysteel assessing the price of Q235 150mm square billet in the city at Yuan 2,930/tonne ($424/t) EXW including the 13% VAT on March 8, up by Yuan 10/t on week.
Mills in northern China were ordered to curb blast furnace activity by at least 30% during March 4-11 to help reduce atmospheric pollution, as Mysteel Global has reported. Some re-rollers in Tangshan were also requested to reduce operations over the period as well.
The production restrictions influenced both billet supply and demand during the survey period. The volume of billet sold or exported by the 21 steelmakers in Tangshan and the surrounding area regularly monitored by Mysteel declined significantly by 11.7% or 5,500 tonnes/day to average 41,500 t/d over February 27-March 5.
On the other hand, during February 26-March 4 daily consumption of the steel semis among the 34 local re-rollers under Mysteel's tracking gained by 30.3% or 3,700 t/d on week to 15,900 t/d, mainly because data for the week before were skewed by rollers ceasing operations during Chinese New Year, as reported.
Last week's production curbs also led to dull downstream demand for the semi-finished product, with only a few re-rollers entering the market to replenish low-priced cargoes, according to market sources. Consequently, both billet inventories held by traders and re-rollers posted further on-week gains over the survey period.
Billet inventories piled in the three commercial warehouses and at the two ports in Tangshan that Mysteel tracks rose by 5.8% or 136,800 tonnes on week to 2.48 million tonnes as of March 5, a record high.
Similarly, as of March 4, stocks of the semis held by the 34 re-rollers regularly surveyed by Mysteel jumped by 12.6% or 67,000 tonnes to reach 597,000 tonnes.
As for this week, Tangshan billet prices are expected to fluctuate within a narrow range, Mysteel predicts. Both billet supply and demand are seen rising should the production curbs be lifted on March 12 as scheduled, while record-high retail stocks of billet would weigh on billet prices to some extent.
Source:Mysteel Global
