Posted on 28 Apr 2026
Billet prices in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province extended their on-week gains during the week of April 20-26 to hit the highest level this year, the latest Mysteel data shows. Market sentiment had remained buoyant, boosted by broad gains in prices of ferrous futures last week.
On April 26, Mysteel assessed the price of Q235 150mm square billet in the city at Yuan 3,020/tonne ($437/t) EXW including the 13% VAT, up by Yuan 40/t on week.
The moderate price increase significantly raised profit margins among steelmakers but also strengthened the already cautious mood among re-rollers that are beginning to suffer margin losses. As such, they opted to restock some billet cargoes, trying to lock in profit margins, sources said.
Consequently, billet inventories held by the 34 local re-rollers under Mysteel's coverage mounted by some 9% or 55,500 tonnes on week to reach 675,500 tonnes as of April 22.
On the other hand, stocks of the semis being held in the three commercial warehouses and at the two ports in Tangshan that Mysteel tracks totaled 2.47 million tonnes as of April 23, edging down by 0.7% or 18,000 tonnes on week.
Those re-rollers had faced mandated production curbs during April 16-19 as the Tangshan government struggled to reduce atmospheric pollution. This forced the rollers to scale back production over the period, Mysteel Global noted.
As a result, billet consumption last week dipped lower, with the daily average among the 34 local re-rollers under Mysteel's tracking registering 35,100 tonnes/day over April 16-22, declining by 14% or 5,700 t/d on week.
As for billet supply, availability of the semis in the local market remained largely steady as most steelmakers in Tangshan had stuck to their production plans throughout the survey week.
Specifically, the volume of billet sold or exported by the 21 steelmakers in Tangshan and the surrounding area regularly monitored by Mysteel inched up by 1.2% or 500 t/d on week at an average of 41,500 t/d over April 17-23.
Tangshan billet prices are expected to retreat slightly this week, primarily due to the approaching May Day public holidays over May 1-5, Mysteel predicts. In addition, the re-rollers' cautious stance is likely to persist due to the margin losses they are currently suffering on their rolled products. Consequently, pre-holiday replenishment could be limited.
Source:Mysteel Global
