Posted on 13 May 2026
The losses that China's blast-furnace (BF) steel mills have been incurring on their domestic sales of rebar continued in April, as the benefits they gained from rising prices were cancelled out by higher production costs, according to Mysteel's latest monthly survey.
For April, the average loss on rebar sales suffered by the sampled steelmakers registered Yuan 39/tonne ($5.7/t), widening slightly by Yuan 6/t compared with March, while their average loss on sales of hot-rolled coil (HRC) was slightly lower at Yuan 14/t Yuan last month, compared with Yuan 17/t 3/t in March.
The sampled BF steelmakers continued to report a minimal profit on sales of medium plate in April however, with the average profit sitting at Yuan 5/t, rising by Yuan 2/t on month, the survey results showed.
Chinese BF mills' margins on finished steel sales (Unit: Yuan/t)
Products | Apr | Mar | MoM |
Rebar | -39 | -33 | -6 |
HRC | -14 | -17 | 3 |
Medium plate | 5 | 3 | 2 |
Source: Mysteel
Prices of major steelmaking raw materials such as iron ore and metallurgical coke increased in April, lifting the production costs of the mills and eroding their profitability, Mysteel Global noted.
Last month, the Mysteel SEADEX 62% Australian Fines iron ore index averaged $109/dmt CFR Qingdao, higher by $1/dmt on month, while the average price of second-grade metallurgical coke in North China under Mysteel's assessment had gained Yuan 56/t on month to reach Yuan 1,446/t on average.
In April, the average production cost for making rebar among the sampled BF steelmakers rose by Yuan 58/t to Yuan 3,177/t including the 13% VAT, while those for making HRC and medium plate increased by Yuan 58/t respectively on month to Yuan 3,329/t and Yuan 3,363/t including the VAT, according to the survey.
Although Chinese finished steel prices strengthened in April thanks to the further recovery in end-user demand and the better performance of ferrous derivatives, domestic steel mills' profit margins showed little improvement due to their higher production costs.
At the end of April, Mysteel assessed the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar at Yuan 3,415/t including the 13% VAT, jumping by Yuan 83/t from one month before, while the national average price of Q235 4.75mm HRC was assessed at Yuan 3,414/t including the 13% VAT for an on-month rise of Yuan 86/t.
For April, the daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses nationwide monitored by Mysteel reached 110,383 tonnes/day on average, surging by 23,780 t/d or 27.5% on month.
Source:Mysteel Global
